The government has pitted England's schools against health. It didn't have to
School pupils in face masks in Huddersfield, September 2020. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
This was originally published by The Guardian.
Closing schools isn’t the only answer: with proper investment, teachers and pupils could be safe and supported
As a teacher, I am used to doing the same thing over and over. I must have taught the four times table hundreds of times, and I can’t imagine how often I’ve asked who needs to go to the toilet.
The government likes to repeat itself, too. Once again, we are debating the relative merits of closing schools. According to ministers, there is an impossible trade-off between educating children and keeping adults safe. But this is a sleight of hand. There is, of course, a genuine tension between these goals – but the stakes need not be so high. Schools could be safer, and home learning could be more effective. It’s the responsibility of the government to make this happen.