Back
Schools 'must come before pubs and restaurants in future'
Aug 5, 2020
Schools should only close after pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops in any future lockdown, the children's commissioner for England has said.
Anne Longfield says children have a right to an education, must not be an "afterthought", and that schools should be "first to open, last to close".
She says children play a smaller role in spreading Covid-19 and are much less likely to get ill from it.
The government says getting children back to school is a national priority.
On Wednesday, Ms Longfield published a new briefing setting out what her office believes are the key actions needed to ensure children "are at the heart of planning for the future".
The children's commissioner acknowledges that reducing Covid-19 transmission in the community is very important "but it should not be automatically assumed that this requires closing schools - except as a last resort".
Schools will be ready for September - minister Testing and tracing 'key to schools returning'
The briefing paper calls for the regular testing of pupils and teachers, so any confirmed Covid-19 cases - and their close contacts - can be isolated "without necessarily having to send entire classes or year groups home".
It adds: "This will be particularly important in the 2020/21 winter flu season when clusters of flu could be mistaken for a Covid-19 outbreak and result in unnecessary closure or interruption."
0Shares
0Comments
2Favorites
4Likes
Say something to impress...
Loading...
Comments
Hot

No content at this moment.

Relevant people
BBC News
134122 Followers
News and more.
Related