Schools and nurseries are getting ready to reopen for more children from June 1, with maximum class sizes of 15 and staggered break times.
Since March 23, schools and nurseries have only been open to vulnerable children and children of critical workers. Remote online education has also been supported for those staying at home.
The government is working with schools, colleges and childcare providers to plan for the wider opening from June 1 at the earliest.
If the level of infection remains low enough, nurseries, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 students would be the first to return.
The government hope to bring all primary year groups back to school before the summer holidays, for a month if feasible.
This will be kept under review and every setting should carry out a risk assessment before opening.
Children could potentially face being redeployed to different schools with staggered start times and a maximum of 15 pupils to a class.
A poll conducted by the national Education Union showed 85% of its 49,000 members who responded are opposed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans.
Plans were described as ‘reckless’ by the largest teaching union.
Here are some key points you need to know:
Educational settings that cater for children in nurseries, Reception, Year 1, Year 6, and priority groups should work towards re-opening from the week commencing June 1
Schools, sixth form and further education colleges should also work to provide some face-to-face support to pupils in Year 10 and Year 12. However, this will not be a return to full timetables
Younger children are being prioritised for several reasons, including scientific evidence that they are less likely to become unwell if infected with coronavirus
Children will need to stay within their new class/group wherever possible
Early years and primary age children cannot be expected to remain two metres apart from each other and staff. Staff should implement frequent hand cleaning and good hygiene practices, regular cleaning of settings and minimising contact and mixing
Children and young people in eligible year groups are strongly encouraged to attend (where there are no shielding concerns for the child or their household)
Vulnerable children of all year groups should still attend where possible
Educational settings will be asked to implement a range of protective measures, including increased cleaning, reducing ‘pinch points’ (such as parents dropping children off at the start and end of the day), and utilising outdoor space
Nurseries and other early years providers, including childminders, should also begin welcoming back children at this time
Parents and children and young people should be encouraged to walk or cycle where possible, and avoid public transport at peak times
Can I still be fined?
Parents will not be fined for non-attendance at this time, and schools and colleges will not be held to account for attendance levels
Nobody with coronavirus symptoms should attend a setting for any reason
Testing
Staff and pupils in all settings will be eligible for testing if they become ill with coronavirus symptoms, as will members of their households.
A negative test will enable children to get back to childcare or education, and their parents to get back to work. A positive test will ensure rapid action is taken to protect their classmates and staff in their setting.
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Coal is the dirtiest of all the green house gases, which is why even the present government has committed to phase out coal power completely by 2024 and driving forward power generation based on renewables with a decarbonised power system by 2035.
The development of wind and solar power means that clean energy is now cheaper than coal generation in most countries, and the cost of new coal based energy plants is well above the cost of new wind and solar farms.
Sustainable non-carbon sources of energy are essential to tackle global warming, and just as essential for hard pressed consumers who are currently paying far more than they need to for their energy use.
District councils in Lincolnshire are already supporting low income households with the Home Energy Upgrade scheme to help them insulate their homes and install low carbon heating for the coming winter.
This is no time for complacency. The rapid acceleration of global warming is evident to everyone just now, andthe time for prevarication is over.
There is no contradiction between tackling global warming and making sure that we can all pay our energy bills.
A Lincoln woman was hospitalised for six months after giving birth whilst having coronavirus, enduring multiple strokes and spending five weeks in a coma. Now, she is fundraising for private treatment to speed up her recovery.
Josie Busby had coronavirus in September last year before testing positive for it again in November. After a dizzy spell, and due to being heavily pregnant, she phoned NHS 111 and an ambulance was sent out.
Josie, now 40, was taken to Lincoln County Hospital where the baby’s heart rate was seen to be high. After waiting to see if her condition improved, doctors decided that for the safety of her and the baby an emergency c-section would be performed.
William, 5, became a big brother to George two days later when Josie’s new baby was born in November 10 last year.
However, Josie suffered multiple strokes and was sent to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester on November 13 for specialist treatment as she was “desperately poorly”, her husband Rob said.
Josie with her sons William, 5, and George who is now around nine months old.
Josie returned to Lincoln County Hospital four days later but her condition continued to deteriorate. She was put into an induced coma for five weeks, where she said she had a lot of tubes inside her. During her time in hospital, her new baby George was looked after at home by her husband Rob and his mum.
Josie came out of the coma in December, but remained in hospital until June 20 this year and she is determined to speed up her recovery by fundraising for private treatment.
Josie is determined to become more mobile again.
She is now having NHS stroke recovery treatment (physio and speech therapy) and also has carers coming to her house at least twice a day to help her with personal care and to get dressed, while family and friends have been helping with batch cooking.
An emotional Josie told The Lincolnite that she is desperate to have the joy of being able to look after her children properly as she has really struggled with not being able to physically do much for them.
She said: “It’s all a blur. I can’t remember much until around February of this year. Although I was awake in December I wasn’t aware of what was going on as I was on a lot of medication.
“I’ve only been home six weeks and my left side is still weak. I can’t hold George in the way that I want to and should, so I am still working on that bond, and I can’t even change his nappy at the moment.
“The physio is coming to the house four to five days a week, helping with my speech, handwriting and physio work. That has been really upsetting for me as I had beautiful handwriting before and now it’s like I’ve never written before, it’s gone completely. I am like a baby learning from the beginning.
Josie (right) with her sister Alice (left).
“I can’t walk across the living room, clean or cook, and when I am in bed I feel like a prisoner as I can’t roll over. My main objective is to be more mobile again so I can do normal activities and look after George and William.
“Because I’m more aware of things now, I am feeling more emotional. I am having counselling to work on that. I think once you’re home in a lot of ways it’s harder as you are more aware of what you can’t do at home, whereas in hospital you get a lot of help with things.
“The support we have had from our parents has been amazing, and above and beyond.”
Josie has felt upset about not being able to look after her baby boy George properly and is trying to raise money to speed up her recovery.
Josie set up a GoFundMe page as the NHS treatment she is having is for a shorter period of time and she said “not being with the kids properly is killing me at the moment”.
She said: “Having children really motivates me to want to get better soon. It is horrible being at home and not being able to look after them, or myself, properly.
“I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has donated. It really means a lot to us and the boys. I also want to thank the hospital staff who were amazing.”
Josie feeding her baby boy George.
Josie’s husband Rob said: “At the very beginning it was very much a shock. When I saw her for the first time after George was born she was essential vacuum packed with tubes coming out of her. It was really scary.
“There were a lot of uncertain weeks at the beginning and I was being given updates from ICU – at one point she was given a 10% chance of survival. It is definitely good that she is home. The help she is getting is really good, what she is after with the GoFundMe page is to add to that.
“Even in this short space of time she’s been home she’s had marked improvements. There is still a long way to go, but she is determined.
“What we’ve had so far (support from hospital and carers) has been really good. All the support from the maternity and Ashby wards, and ICU, was excellent, and from my perspective they couldn’t do enough for me (when I was on the maternity wing with George).”
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