The new academic year is just around the corner, many school children and their teachers won’t have stepped foot in a classroom for around six months.
Plenty of families will be anxious about what awaits their kids beyond the school gates.
We asked education expert Ruth Sparkes from Education Marketing & PR Agency (EMPRA) to explain what children can expect to find on their first day back at school.
Do all children have to attend school in September?
Attendance will be mandatory again from the beginning of the autumn term, which means parents might face fines if they keep their kids off school without good reason.
It is down to school headteachers to decide whether an absence is unaut
How will children get to school?
For the autumn term, children are being asked to keep travel on public transport to a minimum.
Parents, staff and pupils are being encouraged to walk or cycle to school if possible.
Schools have been asked to set-up 'walking buses' to help reduce the use of public transport.
For school buses, the 'one-metre plus' social distancing rule is not required. Instead, schools have been asked to group students in their 'bubbles'.
How will contact between pupils and staff be minimised?
Schools in England have been instructed to keep classes or whole year groups apart in separate 'bubbles'.
Primary schools have been asked to have ‘bubbles’ which include a whole class, while secondary schools are likely to have 'bubbles' that contain a whole year group – this is to ensure as many subjects as possible can be taught.
Older kids will be encouraged to keep their distance within pupil groups and from staff.
Schools will also have to stagger break and lunchtimes, as well as start and finish times, to keep groups apart and reduce foot traffic in canteens, corridors, and doorways.
What about everyday learning?
Assemblies: Schools have to avoid large gatherings, so assemblies or collective worship with more than one group are being ditched.
Music: Singing, wind (clarinet, flute…) and brass (trumpet, trombone…) instrument playing is going to be restricted - so no school choirs or bands.
PE: Only non-contact sports can be delivered in PE lessons.
Classrooms: Pupils will have to sit at forward-facing desks, rather than face-to-face or at circular tables.
Lessons: There will be fewer but longer lessons during the day to minimise pupil movement throughout school - so, if a school previously had five different lessons throughout the day, you may find that this is reduced to only three lessons.
Canteen: It is expected that all school canteens will be open again.
General: There will be one-way traffic around the school, there will be lots of posters so everyone should know what to do and there will be hand sanitiser stations at various points throughout the school.
Facemasks: At the time of writing this there are no specific rules around kids wearing facemasks at school. However this could change - France recently made the wearing of facemasks mandatory for all kids over 11, and some schools in the UK are taking it upon themselves to require students to wear them even though this is not official government guidance.
What happens if there’s a Covid-19 case in school?
All schools are going to be provided with testing kits – these will be given to parents collecting a pupil who has developed symptoms.
The whole school, or all pupils in a year group may have to self-isolate at home if a school has two or more confirmed coronavirus cases within two weeks.
The government reckons school closures 'may not be necessary' if schools implement the recommended controls. If there is larger outbreak, mobile testing units will be sent to schools to test anyone who has been in contact with someone who has tested positive.
What if there is a local lockdown?
Every school has had to plan for the possibility of a local lockdown to keep education going.
The government expects schools to be able to offer immediate remote education if there is a local lockdown – or if a group of pupils need to self-isolate.
They have been asked to have a workable contingency plan in place for remote learning by the end of September.
What will happen to breakfast and after-school clubs?
The government guidance says schools should consider getting breakfast and after-school clubs up and running from the start of term to help support working parents and ensure vulnerable kids get healthy meals.
These clubs should follow the safety guidelines, so schools will have to look at keeping kids within their year groups or ‘bubbles’ where possible.
If it’s not possible, schools have been asked to run these with small, consistent groups.
What about subjects and exams?
Exams: GCSE and A-level exams are set to go ahead in 2021 – but currently Ofqual is looking to push back the start date for the GCSE exams to June. There will be some changes to how different subjects will be examined.
Curriculum: In certain circumstances, a Year 11 pupil might be allowed to drop a subject if the school judges that they need to concentrate on core subjects – such as English and maths. At the start of this school year there may be changes to the curriculum so teachers can prioritise addressing the gaps in pupils’ knowledge caused the lockdown.