English schools to move lessons online amid Omicron surge
Schools in England are set to move some lessons online this term, with education secretary Nadhim Zahawi recommending headteachers adopt a “more flexible approach” to teaching amid widespread absences caused by soaring Covid-19 cases across the country.
In an open letter published on the government’s Education Hub blog, Zahawi expressed his “heartfelt appreciation” for the role of school leaders during the pandemic.
He called on them to “do everything” they can to ensure face-to-face learning continued, but in a change from previous directives he suggested they should consider moving some lessons online if staff shortages made this impossible.
He said: “If operational challenges caused by workforce shortages in your setting make delivery of face-to-face teaching impossible, I would encourage you to consider ways to implement a flexible approach to learning. Flexible delivery involves utilising all your available teaching and non-teaching workforce to maximise on-site education for as many pupils as possible while you flexibly deliver provision either on-site or remotely to some pupils.”
Zahawi also suggested bringing back former teachers to make up staff shortages, and has mandated mask wearing for secondary school pupils in attempt to reduce the spread.
Secondary pupils will also be tested for Covid-19 before they return to school, which could delay the beginning of term by several days for some students.
The minister said it was likely that the number of people going to hospital owing to Covid-19 would continue to go up given the lag between infection and hospitalisation.
However, he felt the UK was in a much stronger position than a year ago given the arrival of antiviral drugs.
The mask mandate and online learning are currently expected to be temporary measures which will be reviewed in the coming weeks.
Steve Barclay, Cabinet Office minister, has asked public sector leaders to test plans against worst-case scenarios, such as workforce absences of up to 25 per cent.
The government is looking to create “robust contingency plans” to tackle coronavirus-related staff absences threatening disruption to government agencies — including the NHS — as well as UK businesses over the coming weeks.