Responding to government guidance giving primary
schools greater flexibility to invite back more pupils, Geoff
Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said:
“We welcome the opportunity for primary schools to invite
back more pupils. In truth, most schools will have limited
capacity to bring back more pupils while restricting class sizes
to no more than 15 in distinct and consistent groups. However,
some school leaders have indicated that they would like to be
able to do this. It is helpful that the government is allowing
schools the flexibility to prioritise which children they think
will most benefit from time in school, if they are able to offer
this.
“We are also pleased that the government has listened to
our suggestion that all schools and colleges
should be able to invite pupils in for a one-off ‘check in’
session before the end of term. This will help teachers to get a
clearer sense of how pupils have found learning from home, to
check on their wellbeing, and to plan further
teaching.
“However, these changes do not make up for the lack of a
long-term, strategic plan for education over the coming
months. What we really need is the government
to join with the profession as a matter of urgency, in developing
a national plan to bring more children back to school as soon as
possible, and provide support to help children catch-up with
missed learning. We need a coherent strategy both for the
immediate future and beyond.”
