Head supports 'breathing space' to prepare testing before students return to school
A Halesowen headteacher has welcomed the delay of students returning after Christmas so his school can prepare to start Covid testing.
Matthew Mynott, headteacher of Leasowes High School, said the U-turn on the planned staggered reopening will give them some "breathing space" before students are set to come back on January 11 for exam years or January 18 for others.
Wednesday’s change of plan comes after warnings from experts suggesting a delayed return might be necessary as hospitals struggle with more Covid-19 patients than in the peak of the first wave.
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Mr Mynott said: "I'm supporting it because it's just giving teachers just that further week to get things in place.
"The information on testing came out on the Wednesday before we broke up late in the afternoon.
"A lot of schools were then closing at the end of Thursday. The guidance came out on the 23rd, then it was Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
"Then they came out with a formula for how many staff needed to help with the testing, for us it is 13.
"For a size of a school just under 1,000 students, 13 staff have to do different jobs within the testing regime and to do that ready for Tuesday morning is nonsensical.
Symptoms
"For me it makes sense just to give an extra week so that we can get ahead with the testing, and the testing is a good thing, it's something I've been asking for.
"In the cases that we have had, some have been asymptomatic, some have had the full symptoms and some have had colds that have ended up testing positive as Covid, so it's been a mix.
"We can then try to keep schools open longer and shouldn't need to close bubbles.
"It might have taken until Wednesday but at least we still have a few days.
"We've got a training day on the first day back but at the same time we will be spending some time organising what we need to do for the rest of the week."
Staffordshire County Council has said it will be supporting schools during the partial closures of the next few weeks.
The county council will be liaising, where needed, with Staffordshire schools to provide support.
And at the same time it will be supporting the Department of Health roll-out of in-school testing if necessary.
Jonathan Price, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for Education (and SEND), said: “School staff have been working very hard this year to deliver good education for our children in extraordinary circumstances and they deserve every credit.
“Following the recent Government announcements we are working closely with schools to help them where we can as they meet the latest challenges.
“We know schools are putting their arrangements in place and that they will be updating parents in the usual ways as soon as possible.”
