Teachers' unions 'unconvinced' safe to open schools after evidence from government's scientific advisers
Rosie Kendrick, a mother of two children in Ealing, west London, believes the decision on going back to school should be left to the judgement of parents.Can children catch and spread coronavirus?
But for other parents, she says the return to school might be too"anxiety inducing" and it might be better for them to keep their children at home. In its evidence, the scientific advisory group said the role of children in the transmission of Covid-19 was uncertain - and it"cannot be clear" the extent to which schools could be reopened without increasing the virus.Speaking at the Downing Street briefing, Sir Patrick Vallance, chief scientific adviser, would not be drawn on the decision on when schools should be reopened, saying that was for the government.
"I understand where they're coming from but I generally can't take that risk, I don't want it spreading further than it has to be spread so it's safer for my own child and other children if I keep him off." In scenarios for opening schools, the committee found opening nurseries and reception classes would be less likely to increase the spread of the virus than primary schools - but opening secondary schools could have a bigger impact than both.
This is because the steps were taken at the same time as other lockdown measures - and it is"difficult to disentangle the individual impacts".
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