By Gavin Mackintosh-
An academy trust has been forced by the government to open longer before Christmas, after it expressed plans to close early.
Focus Trust first announced on Friday that its 15 schools across Manchester and West Yorkshire would close on December 11, a week earlier than planned, to “safeguard the wellbeing of staff and pupils and protect precious family time together” over the festive break, the trust said.
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However, the school was forced to perform a U turn after it was threatened with action from regional schools commissioner Vicky Beer, unless it did not change its position. British schools in many arts of the Uk have been shutting down due to fears of the coronavirus spreading. Some schools have stayed open but left many pupils self isolating.
The Department Of Education also refused the trust’s permission to run two inset days at the end of term or move to remote learning for the final week of term.
It comes after the latest attendance data from the Department for Education shows that up to 876,000 pupils, that is, between 9 and 11 per cent of the total population, did not attend school for Covid-19 related reasons on November 19, up from around 550,000 the week before.
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The Department Of Education said that since last Thursday, 18,000 pupils had a confirmed case of coronavirus, 31,000 had a suspected case and up to 761,000 pupils were self-isolating due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus. Around 66,000 pupils were in schools that had closed as a result of Covid-19.
Trust chair Clive Davies and chief executive Helen Rowland said: “During our discussion on Sunday evening with the RSC we were made aware, for the first time, that under the Coronavirus Act 2020, individual trusts have no academy freedoms to make decisions for Covid related reasons, such as setting their own term dates.
“Although we are very disappointed at having to inform our staff and families of a change to our plans, we accept the DfE’s position and have reverted to the original term days.”
The Department Of Education also refused the trust’s permission to run two inset days at the end of term or move to remote learning for the final week of term.
Davies and Rowland added: “All of our decisions are taken with the best interests of our children, staff and the community in mind.
“This has been a very disruptive and exceptional term for all concerned, with the impact of Covid-19 being felt throughout our schools, resulting in absenteeism and staff shortages across the board.”
Rowland said despite “robust Covid secure arrangements”, bubbles have been closed in 13 of its schools – meaning over a quarter of the trust’s pupils (1,740 children) and 38 per cent of staff (375) have had to self-isolate.
The DfE’s crackdown is likely to kill off any further moves to change term dates or provision in the run up to Christmas.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said schools now have a “chaotic rota system by default… The government has to recognise reality. The current situation is unsustainable.”
The government’s Winter Plan published yesterday stated that schools were told they “should not change their Christmas holidays or close early this term”.
Parents “should continue to send their children to school during term time and students should continue to attend college right up until the end of term”, it added.
School minister Nick Gibb said: “The best place for children to be is in schools, which is why it remains a national priority to keep them open full time and avoid further disruption to education.
“I know this is a challenging time but the latest data shows only 0.2% of pupils were off school isolating with a confirmed case of coronavirus. Closing early for Christmas or extending the holidays is not the answer.”
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