Ministers still intend to reopen schools at full capacity across England in September despite concerns raised by teaching unions, a cabinet minister has said.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick also said there were no plans to close pubs in order to keep coronavirus infection levels down ahead of the return to classrooms, after a government scientific adviser suggested that there might have to be a “trade-off” between the two.
He also cast doubt on reports that Boris Johnson’s government is considering asking over-50s to stay at home in an age-differentiated lockdown in the case of an upsurge in Covid-19, telling Times Radio: “That’s not something that is being actively considered.”
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Mr Jenrick was speaking after the general secretary of the teaching union NASUWT warned that schools needed “greater clarity” about plans to reopen their gates, in the wake of the sudden scaling back of lockdown relaxations in the North-West and delays to the planned return of wedding receptions and indoor leisure venues.
Chief medical officer Chris Whitty sparked speculation about possible trade-offs between different aspects of lockdown when he warned on Friday that England was “near the limit” of the restrictions which can be relaxed without losing control of the virus, telling a Downing Street press conference: “If we wish to do more things in the future, we may have to do less of some other things.”
left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch.
1/50 Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the FA Cup, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease
Pool via Reuters
2/50 31 July 2020People enjoy the sunny weather at a Bournemouth Beach
Reuters
3/50 30 July 2020An artist puts the finishing touches to a wax figure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in the entrance line at Madame Tussaud’s in London, as the attraction prepares to reopen to the public following the easing of lockdown restrictions in England
PA
4/50 29 July 2020A member of staff stands on Ai Weiwei’s ‘History of Bombs’ during a photocall for the Chinese artist’s new work on display at the Imperial War Museum in London
PA
5/50 28 July 2020Stuart Broad celebrates after taking the wicket of West Indies batsman Kraigg Brathwaite. It was a milestone wicket in his career, reaching his 500th Test Wicket for England. They went on to beat the West Indies in Manchester and therefore win the series 2-1
Getty/ECB
6/50 27 July 2020Demonstrators protest outside the Tate Modern in London over proposed job losses in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown. The group believe that the emergency money provided by the government to culture-based organisations should be used to retain all jobs and that any other use of the funding is unfair. The gallery on London’s South Bank, as well as the Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives, reopened today after closing in March due to lockdown measures meant to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus
Getty
7/50 26 July 2020Harry Maguire shakes hands with Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers after Manchester United beat the Foxes. The win meant they finished third in the Premier League and Leicester finished outside a Champions League place in fourth
Pool via Reuters
8/50 25 July 2020Women exercise using pool noodles during an aqua fit class at a gym in Sunbury-on-Thames after gyms and swimming pools were allowed to reopen
AFP via Getty
9/50 24 July 2020Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tries out a new Streetspace protected cycle lane in London at the launch a new online cycle training scheme
PA
10/50 23 July 2020A customer has her hair cut outside at Blade Hairdressers in Soho in London
Getty
11/50 22 July 2020Liverpool’s English midfielder Jordan Henderson lifts the Premier League trophy during the presentation following the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield in Liverpool. Liverpool on Wednesday lifted the Premier League trophy at the famous Kop stand at Anfield after their final home game of the season
AFP via Getty
12/50 21 July 2020Vivienne Westwood demonstrates outside the Old Bailey in support of Julian Assange in London
Reuters
13/50 20 July 2020Comet Neowise in the skies over the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire
PA
14/50 19 July 2020Mods and rockers unite on Madeira Drive, Brighton, for a demonstration to call for the reopening of the road which Brighton & Hove City Council plans to keep closed permanently
PA
15/50 18 July 2020People enjoy the sunny weather at Painshill, an 18th century landscape garden in Cobham, Surrey
PA
16/50 17 July 2020Captain Sir Thomas Moore receives his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, during a ceremony at Windsor Castle
AP
17/50 16 July 2020Red Arrows do a flypast during the Graduation Ceremony of the Queen’s Squadron at RAF College Cranwell, Lincolnshire
The Daily Telegraph/PA
18/50 15 July 2020Jen Reid poses in front of a black resin and steel statue titled ‘A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020’, which is based on her by Marc Quinn, where it has been installed on the vacant Edward Colston plinth in Bristol city centre. The original statue was pulled down and thrown into Bristol Harbour during Black Lives Matter protests
PA
19/50 14 July 2020Fields of echium and borage in full flower near the town of Thaxted in Essex
PA
20/50 13 July 2020People ride a rollercoaster in a theme park next to Southend pier. Many businesses in tourism and hospitality have been able to reopen after some lockdown measures were eased
Getty
21/50 12 July 2020West Indies’s John Campbell and Jason Holder celebrate winning the test as England’s Rory Burns and teammates look on dejected
Reuters
22/50 11 July 2020Chicldren play in the water during a cricket match between Abinger and Worplesdon & Nurpham in Abinger Hammer, Surrey
Reuters
23/50 10 July 2020People gather for the funeral of Dame Vera Lynn in Ditchling, England. During World War II she travelled to the frontlines, including Burma, entertaining British troops and boosting morale. She died on 18 June at her home in West Sussex
Getty
24/50 9 July 2020Artist Anish Kapoor looks into his sculpture ‘Sky Mirror’ at Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, ahead of the opening of his largest UK exhibition of outdoor sculptures
PA
25/50 8 July 2020Players take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton
AFP via Getty
26/50 7 July 2020A circus performer from the Association of Circus Proprietors in Whitehall, London. The association handed a petition to Downing Street to ask Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow circuses to reopen
EPA
27/50 6 July 2020Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, which re-opened to the public after being closed due to the coronavirus lockdown
PA
28/50 5 July 2020People visit Columbia Road Flower Market, London, as it reopens following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions across England
PA
29/50 4 July 2020A member of bar staff wearing PPE in the form of a face mask, pours drinks inside the The Goldengrove in Stratford
AFP via Getty
30/50 3 July 2020Cardboard cutouts of fans in the stands prior to the League One play-off semi final match between Portsmouth and Oxford United at Fratton Park
PA
31/50 2 July 2020A diver cleans the inside window of the seal tank at Tynemouth Aquarium in North Shields, as it prepares to open on Saturday after further coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted in England
PA
32/50 1 July 2020Slackliner Sandor Nagy practices on the beach in Boscombe, on the south coast of England
AFP via Getty
33/50 30 June 2020(left to right) Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill attending the funeral of senior Irish Republican and former leading IRA figure Bobby Storey in west Belfast
PA
34/50 29 June 2020Former Team GB Rhythmic Gymnastic dancer Hannah Martin during a training session at Ouse Valley Viaduct in Sussex
Reuters
35/50 28 June 2020People visit Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, that recently reopened following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restriction
PA
36/50 27 June 2020A protest for Justice for Shukri Abdi on Trafalgar Square in London, following a raft of Black Lives Matter protests across the UK
PA
37/50 26 June 2020Police at the scene of an incident at the Park Inn Hotel in central Glasgow. Scottish police said armed officers shot dead a man after a suspected stabbing in the city centre left six others injured, including one of their colleagues. Several roads were closed and the surrounding area was cordoned off
AFP via Getty
38/50 25 June 2020A horse is washed down at Haydock Racecourse
PA
39/50 24 June 2020People enjoy the hot weather on Margate beach
Reuters
40/50 23 June 2020Tony Bennett the owner of The Devereux pub in Temple, London. Pub and hospitality bosses have cheered the Government’s proposals to allow customers through their doors again on July 4 as “a welcome relief”. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 23, 2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that pubs, restaurants and cinemas will be able to reopen from July 4, with “one metre-plus” distancing measures in place
PA
41/50 22 June 2020Police forensics officers carry out a search near Forbury Gardens, in Reading town centre, the scene of a multiple stabbing attack which took place at around 7pm on Saturday, leaving three people dead and another three seriously injured
PA
42/50 21 June 2020Soccer Football – Premier League – Everton v Liverpool – Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain – June 21, 2020 Children play football outside the stadium before the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Action Images via Reuters
43/50 20 June 2020Arsenal’s midfielder Nicolas Pepe kneels before the Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium in southern England
AFP via Getty
44/50 19 June 2020Bianca Walkden during a training session at the National Taekwondo Centre in Manchester
PA
45/50 18 June 2020French President Emmanuel Macron gestures about social distancing alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he arrives at Downing Street for a meeting. Macron also visited London to commemorate the 80th anniversary of former French president Charles de Gaulle’s appeal to French people to resist the Nazi occupation during World War II
AFP
46/50 17 June 2020Players kneel, as well as, having ‘Black Lives Matter’ in place of names on their shirts prior to the start of the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United at Villa Park in Birmingham. The league resumed after its three-month suspension because of coronavirus
AP
47/50 16 June 2020Motakhayyel ridden by Jim Crowley, right, wins the Buckingham Palace Handicap during day one of Royal Ascot. This year, the flat racing’s biggest meeting, is behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak
PA
48/50 15 June 2020Queues form at Primark at the Rushden Lakes shopping complex after the government relaxed coronavirus lockdown laws significantly, allowing zoos, safari parks and non-essential shops to open to visitors
Getty
49/50 14 June 2020A man kneels at a commemoration to mark the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. The fire claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017
PA
50/50 13 June 2020Protesters confront police in Whitehall near Parliament Square, during a protest by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance
PA
1/50 Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the FA Cup, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease
Pool via Reuters
2/50 31 July 2020People enjoy the sunny weather at a Bournemouth Beach
Reuters
3/50 30 July 2020An artist puts the finishing touches to a wax figure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in the entrance line at Madame Tussaud’s in London, as the attraction prepares to reopen to the public following the easing of lockdown restrictions in England
PA
4/50 29 July 2020A member of staff stands on Ai Weiwei’s ‘History of Bombs’ during a photocall for the Chinese artist’s new work on display at the Imperial War Museum in London
PA
5/50 28 July 2020Stuart Broad celebrates after taking the wicket of West Indies batsman Kraigg Brathwaite. It was a milestone wicket in his career, reaching his 500th Test Wicket for England. They went on to beat the West Indies in Manchester and therefore win the series 2-1
Getty/ECB
6/50 27 July 2020Demonstrators protest outside the Tate Modern in London over proposed job losses in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown. The group believe that the emergency money provided by the government to culture-based organisations should be used to retain all jobs and that any other use of the funding is unfair. The gallery on London’s South Bank, as well as the Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives, reopened today after closing in March due to lockdown measures meant to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus
Getty
7/50 26 July 2020Harry Maguire shakes hands with Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers after Manchester United beat the Foxes. The win meant they finished third in the Premier League and Leicester finished outside a Champions League place in fourth
Pool via Reuters
8/50 25 July 2020Women exercise using pool noodles during an aqua fit class at a gym in Sunbury-on-Thames after gyms and swimming pools were allowed to reopen
AFP via Getty
9/50 24 July 2020Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tries out a new Streetspace protected cycle lane in London at the launch a new online cycle training scheme
PA
10/50 23 July 2020A customer has her hair cut outside at Blade Hairdressers in Soho in London
Getty
11/50 22 July 2020Liverpool’s English midfielder Jordan Henderson lifts the Premier League trophy during the presentation following the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield in Liverpool. Liverpool on Wednesday lifted the Premier League trophy at the famous Kop stand at Anfield after their final home game of the season
AFP via Getty
12/50 21 July 2020Vivienne Westwood demonstrates outside the Old Bailey in support of Julian Assange in London
Reuters
13/50 20 July 2020Comet Neowise in the skies over the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire
PA
14/50 19 July 2020Mods and rockers unite on Madeira Drive, Brighton, for a demonstration to call for the reopening of the road which Brighton & Hove City Council plans to keep closed permanently
PA
15/50 18 July 2020People enjoy the sunny weather at Painshill, an 18th century landscape garden in Cobham, Surrey
PA
16/50 17 July 2020Captain Sir Thomas Moore receives his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, during a ceremony at Windsor Castle
AP
17/50 16 July 2020Red Arrows do a flypast during the Graduation Ceremony of the Queen’s Squadron at RAF College Cranwell, Lincolnshire
The Daily Telegraph/PA
18/50 15 July 2020Jen Reid poses in front of a black resin and steel statue titled ‘A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020’, which is based on her by Marc Quinn, where it has been installed on the vacant Edward Colston plinth in Bristol city centre. The original statue was pulled down and thrown into Bristol Harbour during Black Lives Matter protests
PA
19/50 14 July 2020Fields of echium and borage in full flower near the town of Thaxted in Essex
PA
20/50 13 July 2020People ride a rollercoaster in a theme park next to Southend pier. Many businesses in tourism and hospitality have been able to reopen after some lockdown measures were eased
Getty
21/50 12 July 2020West Indies’s John Campbell and Jason Holder celebrate winning the test as England’s Rory Burns and teammates look on dejected
Reuters
22/50 11 July 2020Chicldren play in the water during a cricket match between Abinger and Worplesdon & Nurpham in Abinger Hammer, Surrey
Reuters
23/50 10 July 2020People gather for the funeral of Dame Vera Lynn in Ditchling, England. During World War II she travelled to the frontlines, including Burma, entertaining British troops and boosting morale. She died on 18 June at her home in West Sussex
Getty
24/50 9 July 2020Artist Anish Kapoor looks into his sculpture ‘Sky Mirror’ at Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, ahead of the opening of his largest UK exhibition of outdoor sculptures
PA
25/50 8 July 2020Players take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton
AFP via Getty
26/50 7 July 2020A circus performer from the Association of Circus Proprietors in Whitehall, London. The association handed a petition to Downing Street to ask Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow circuses to reopen
EPA
27/50 6 July 2020Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, which re-opened to the public after being closed due to the coronavirus lockdown
PA
28/50 5 July 2020People visit Columbia Road Flower Market, London, as it reopens following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions across England
PA
29/50 4 July 2020A member of bar staff wearing PPE in the form of a face mask, pours drinks inside the The Goldengrove in Stratford
AFP via Getty
30/50 3 July 2020Cardboard cutouts of fans in the stands prior to the League One play-off semi final match between Portsmouth and Oxford United at Fratton Park
PA
31/50 2 July 2020A diver cleans the inside window of the seal tank at Tynemouth Aquarium in North Shields, as it prepares to open on Saturday after further coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted in England
PA
32/50 1 July 2020Slackliner Sandor Nagy practices on the beach in Boscombe, on the south coast of England
AFP via Getty
33/50 30 June 2020(left to right) Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill attending the funeral of senior Irish Republican and former leading IRA figure Bobby Storey in west Belfast
PA
34/50 29 June 2020Former Team GB Rhythmic Gymnastic dancer Hannah Martin during a training session at Ouse Valley Viaduct in Sussex
Reuters
35/50 28 June 2020People visit Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, that recently reopened following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restriction
PA
36/50 27 June 2020A protest for Justice for Shukri Abdi on Trafalgar Square in London, following a raft of Black Lives Matter protests across the UK
PA
37/50 26 June 2020Police at the scene of an incident at the Park Inn Hotel in central Glasgow. Scottish police said armed officers shot dead a man after a suspected stabbing in the city centre left six others injured, including one of their colleagues. Several roads were closed and the surrounding area was cordoned off
AFP via Getty
38/50 25 June 2020A horse is washed down at Haydock Racecourse
PA
39/50 24 June 2020People enjoy the hot weather on Margate beach
Reuters
40/50 23 June 2020Tony Bennett the owner of The Devereux pub in Temple, London. Pub and hospitality bosses have cheered the Government’s proposals to allow customers through their doors again on July 4 as “a welcome relief”. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 23, 2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that pubs, restaurants and cinemas will be able to reopen from July 4, with “one metre-plus” distancing measures in place
PA
41/50 22 June 2020Police forensics officers carry out a search near Forbury Gardens, in Reading town centre, the scene of a multiple stabbing attack which took place at around 7pm on Saturday, leaving three people dead and another three seriously injured
PA
42/50 21 June 2020Soccer Football – Premier League – Everton v Liverpool – Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain – June 21, 2020 Children play football outside the stadium before the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Action Images via Reuters
43/50 20 June 2020Arsenal’s midfielder Nicolas Pepe kneels before the Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium in southern England
AFP via Getty
44/50 19 June 2020Bianca Walkden during a training session at the National Taekwondo Centre in Manchester
PA
45/50 18 June 2020French President Emmanuel Macron gestures about social distancing alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he arrives at Downing Street for a meeting. Macron also visited London to commemorate the 80th anniversary of former French president Charles de Gaulle’s appeal to French people to resist the Nazi occupation during World War II
AFP
46/50 17 June 2020Players kneel, as well as, having ‘Black Lives Matter’ in place of names on their shirts prior to the start of the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United at Villa Park in Birmingham. The league resumed after its three-month suspension because of coronavirus
AP
47/50 16 June 2020Motakhayyel ridden by Jim Crowley, right, wins the Buckingham Palace Handicap during day one of Royal Ascot. This year, the flat racing’s biggest meeting, is behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak
PA
48/50 15 June 2020Queues form at Primark at the Rushden Lakes shopping complex after the government relaxed coronavirus lockdown laws significantly, allowing zoos, safari parks and non-essential shops to open to visitors
Getty
49/50 14 June 2020A man kneels at a commemoration to mark the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. The fire claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017
PA
50/50 13 June 2020Protesters confront police in Whitehall near Parliament Square, during a protest by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance
PA
A member of the government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage), Prof Graham Medley, said that the country may have to ask itself “Do we think pubs are more important than schools?”. And Prof Susan Michie, of the Independent Sage group of scientists, told The Independent that “super-spreader areas” like indoor pubs and gyms should be shut in a drive for “zero Covid” to make school reopening safer.
Patrick Roach of NASUWT, which represents 300,000 teachers across the UK, told The Observer: “In light of recent changes to plans for relaxing lockdown measures, the government needs to provide greater clarity to school leaders, teachers and parents about what this will mean for the reopening of schools in September.”
He added: “The warning from the chief medical officer that a fine balance has to be struck in ensuring public health at this stage of the pandemic, and that the country may have reached the limits to the easing of lockdown, will no doubt prompt questions for many parents as well as for those working in schools.
“If schools are to reopen safely, the government will need to give them clarification about what they need to do to take account of the latest scientific evidence and advice, as well as sufficient time to review and, if necessary, adjust their reopening plans.”
Asked on Times Radio whether the government would look to close pubs in response to a rise in coronavirus infections, Mr Jenrick said: “We don’t have any plans to do that.”
But he said that getting all schools back for all pupils in September would be a priority should there be a second spike of infections.
“Reopening schools and getting our children back into the classroom with that direct face-to-face contact with their teachers will be a priority for the government when we have to make those tough choices,” he said.
Mr Jenrick added: “We want to ensure that schools return in September. We need to get all of our kids back to school. We’ve set out very detailed guidance as to how we can do that. We think we can do that safely.
Only a few primary years have returned to classrooms since lockdown began in March (AFP via Getty)
“Schools are working very hard to put those plans into practice… Obviously we will keep working with teachers and their unions to give them confidence, and we want to get all political parties behind us on this, because I think there are few things more important to the future of this country than getting children back to school in the classroom from September.”
Responding to reports of plans to require over-50s to “shield” themselves from coronavirus while allowing younger people free movement, Mr Jenrick said: “This is just speculation.
“You would expect the Government to be considering all of the range of options that might be available.
“That’s not something that is being actively considered.”
He said any fresh restrictions were unlikely to apply wholesale, adding: “We don’t want to do anything that is a blanket approach across the country.
“Our strategy is to manage this in a localised way with targeted action as we’ve done in Leicester, as we’re doing now in the north-west.
“We will follow the data and look at options if we have to but that approach is the way we restrict in certain areas – it is difficult for those who live there but it provides greater freedom for the rest of the country, for businesses to reopen and for people to get on with their daily lives, and that has to be the way forward if we can.”
Asked whether there were plans to put London under lockdown if Covid rates increased, he added: “Not as far as I’m aware.
“We’re taking a very localised approach following the data and I’m working, for example, with each of the directors of public health in the London boroughs who are monitoring the rate of transmission in their own areas very closely.
“There is no plan, as far as I’m aware, to do anything broader in London.”
Meanwhile, Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said it had become clear that there is a link between closing schools and controlling the spread of the virus. “The evidence is clear that schools are important in the spread of Covid-19,” he said. “Our studies show that, across Europe, closing schools was the single factor most strongly associated with drops in infection rates.”
Hunter added that while individual risks to children and teachers were probably low, school transmission was likely to push up general infection rates, so the disease would rise exponentially again. “Would re-opening schools increase the spread of Covid-19 in the population? Yes. I think it would very probably do that.”
Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk