Surrey headteachers prepared for delayed school reopening
Schools will be given a two week warning before they are told to open
Paul Foster, Headteacher of Warlingham School
School bosses in East Surrey have said they have not been given any date on when they may be able to reopen.
With reports of government sources refusing to rule out closing schools until after the Easter holidays, it appears home schooling will part of many residents lives for the foreseeable future.
Although open for children of key workers and vulnerable children, schools were cautious over a full return. Paul Foster, Headteacher at Warlingham Secondary School, Surrey, said he was happy his staff would be given more time to prepare for any reopening than they had done over the Christmas holidays.
"It's difficult when a lot of the announcements are presented to us via the media, as opposed to using the usual direct communication channels; it has been challenging to manage that.
"The other difficult thing is the short notice we get of changes which means we have to make new plans with little time to adjust. For example, we had a communication on December 17 about what was expected upon our return and then a different one on New Years’ Eve and then again on January 4. So, we welcome the latest announcement that school leaders will be given two weeks’ notice for when they are expected to reopen.”
"There's no doubt school is the best place for children to be for their education and for their wellbeing. If given the choice, as long as it's safe to do so, we'd all much rather be where we were in the autumn term, managing cases when they come but with the school operating as close to normal as is feasible.
"In the meantime we have made great strides forward in both delivering remote learning as well as in helping students get better access to it.”
"We also understand the demands on the NHS and the hospitals have to dictate what's safe for us to do. If it we were to come back sooner and close again that wouldn't be preferable to a slightly longer wait. It's a difficult balancing act, it's got to be the right thing for the bigger picture," he added.
Primary Schools are rumoured to open earlier than secondary education, although some headteachers like Jane Gorecka and Mandy Parsonson, from St Martin's School, Dorking, said they had not heard any developments yet.
They added: "As the headteachers of a school, we have no more information than that which is in the public domain, in terms of when schools may open again. Currently, we are providing places for the children of key workers and vulnerable learners, as are all schools.
"Our understanding is that schools will be given two weeks notice of any changes to the current guidance and so we will have time to plan how to receive children back into school safely. When we hear that announcement, we will begin our planning, again, with health, safety and well-being, at the centre of our thinking."
