Five ex-education chiefs put party politics aside and issue call to get kids back to school next week
FIVE former education chiefs have buried the political hatchet to issue an extraordinary joint appeal to get pupils back to class next week.
Tories Damian Hinds, Justine Greening and Kenneth Baker, Labour’s David Blunkett and Lib Dem David Laws all united.
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They told The Sun there is a “desperate need” to reopen schools and they warned: “The future of our country depends on it.”
Any longer out of the classroom risks causing untold damage to kids’ studies, health and wellbeing, they added.
Together, their time in charge of England’s schools spanned four decades.
Ex-Education Secretary Lord Blunkett, 73, said: “Getting schools reopened is absolutely fundamental to everything that we stand for.
“We send children to school for a purpose — and that is because their very future and the future of our country depends on it.”
PM’S ‘BIGGEST CHALLENGE’
The country’s schools, colleges and nurseries closed for most kids in March as coronavirus swept the country.
The national schools shutdown was the first in English history and a string of alarming reports found it has massively widened the education gap between rich and poor.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to get all of England’s pupils back to class full- time next week.
We send children to school for a purpose —because their very future and the future of our country depends on it.
Lord Blunkett
The ex-schools supremos warned that No10 cannot fail in this test.
Lord Baker, 85 — who was Education Secretary under Margaret Thatcher — said that the Covid education crisis could be as bad as the recession.
He said: “This is the Prime Minister’s biggest challenge now, getting all children back to school.
“You will find that some parents are anxious, and that some children won’t want to go back — but we have got to get them into the routine of schools.
“Once you lose out on a stage of your schooling like this, you may end up losing out for ever.
“It affects a child’s entire future. It is very, very important and it must happen.”
RECOVERING LOST GROUND
Ms Greening, 51, who was Education Secretary under Theresa May, said the past six months have been “hugely damaging” for kids.
She said: “Parents have done their level best home-schooling but we urgently need schools open safely so children can get back to full-time education.
“We also need a catch-up plan to help them recover lost ground.”
Mr Hinds, 50, Education Secretary until July last year, said: “Kids desperately need to get back to school.
“In the immediate term, mental and physical health are supported by the routine of going to school, interacting with friends and teachers and accessing purposeful activity.”
Mr Laws, 54, Schools Minister during the Coalition, said: “Given the huge learning loss during lockdown, particularly for the poorest children, it’s vital we do everything we can to ensure a full return to school next week, provided this is supported by the health advice.”
It is a crucial test for Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, who is clinging on to his job by a thread in the wake of humiliating U-turns on mask wearing in schools and A-level results.
Fuming Tory MPs have urged No10 to sack him if he fails to get schools reopened on time.
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Schools in Wales are also reopening next week, while they have been open for a fortnight already in Scotland.
All of the UK’s chief medical officers have declared that it is safe for children to return to school.
On a visit to a school in Leicestershire today, Mr Johnson said: “This is an absolutely invaluable time for them — they must get back into school.”
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