A primary school has sparked fury among parents after it revealed its social distancing plan, which would see children as young as four playing in hula-hoop ‘bubbles’, pupils being given set times to go to the toilet and students being told to clean up their own cuts if they fall over.
Holywell Village First School in Northumberland, has come under fire over the plans, which they have suggested will be put into place when pupils return to the classroom on June 1.
In a now-deleted post on the school’s Facebook page, seen by Metro, the school said pupils will be assigned ‘play bubbles’ where they will have to stay when they go outside to the playground.
The instructions were accompanied by a picture to show how it would work if they reopen as expected on June 1 – with hula hoops placed in rows across the ground marked with an x in the middle.
A primary school has advised that children would have to stay inside a hoop on the playground and clean their own cuts if they fall over when classrooms reopen. Holywell Village First School in Northumberland, has come under fire over its plans for social distancing when pupils return to the classroom on June 1
Pictures revealed desks inside Holywell Village First School in Northumberland spaced two metres apart
The post also said children will be given specific time slots for going to the bathroom ‘and will not be allowed to leave the classroom outside of their allocated toilet times’.
Parents also raised concern about children having to ‘do their own first aid’ if they scrape themselves.
The post read: ‘If they fall over or have a toileting accident they will be encouraged to change themselves and clean their scrape or cut.
‘We have sourced PPE (following the COVID 19 guidance for Educational Settings) which is for use only for staff protection should a child vomit, not for trips, falls or scrapes.
‘If it is not possible for the child to clean themselves in the event of an accident, the parent will be called to collect them so they can do that at home.’
The post was deleted after it was shared thousands of times, and parents criticised the new measures.
Mum-of-three Kristina Richards, 29, told the Metro: ‘How on earth can children in reception and year one have an allocated toilet time? They are young kids and if they need to go to the toilet then they need to.
Pupils at the school will be sat at desks two metres apart under the social distancing guidelines
The school, which will reopen on June 1, shared its proposed plans on social media. Pictured: Arrows and markings remind pupils to remain a safe distance apart while walking through the corridor
‘No child aged 4/5 should have to clean up their own cuts. And if they can’t do it then a parent will be called. What if that parent is now back to work?
‘Does that mean this child has to wait maybe an hour until a parent arrives to change their child’s soiled clothes or clean their bleeding legs? It’s ludicrous.’
Others raised concerns that parents would not be allowed to enter the school and there would be no hot meals.
The school said the ‘drastic’ changes were enforced to ‘keep staff and children as safe as possible’.
Other measures state that soft furnishings will also be removed as well as all other unnecessary furniture.
MailOnline has contacted the school for comment.
The photos come after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson over the weekend outlined his plans for reception, year 1 and 6 classes to return from June 1.
He insisted that pupils ‘stand to lose more by staying away from school’.
He outlined measures schools will take avoid a surge in the killer disease which has killed 34,500 people in the UK and infected 241,000.
Measures include small classes and keeping children in small socially-distanced groups.
Yesterday ministers urged unions to work with them to get schools up and running by June 1 after a study found better-off children are doing 75 minutes a day more home learning than the poorest.
The danger of the coronavirus lockdown widening the gap with the most disadvantaged pupils was highlighted in research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).
Meanwhile, academies and the Church of England have heaped pressure on unions by warning that delay damages the prospects of children who can least afford it.
The chief executives of 22 academy trusts warn schools must reopen soon to avoid ‘irreparable’ damage to vulnerable children.
Cabinet minister Michael Gove yesterday escalated the row by telling union leaders: ‘If you really care about children, you will want them to be in school.’
Teaching unions look set once again to clash with the government over plans to reopen schools next month, with one union chief today raising fears that classrooms could become ‘centres of transmission’ for Covid-19.
Paul Whiteman, head of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said the government must lay out the level of risk to pupils, teachers and parents before plans to mitigate it can be discussed.
Paul Whiteman, head of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said the government must lay out the level of risk to pupils, teachers and parents before plans to mitigate it can be discussed
Speaking on Radio Four today’s programme, Mr Whiteman, whose union represents 31,000 school leaders, said: ‘I think what needs to be recognised first of all is that teachers and school leaders do want to see pupils back to class.
‘We’ve been engaging along with other unions and with the department for education to discuss exactly how this can be done and how it can be done safely.
‘What our school leaders are very concerned about is schools becoming centres of transmission and this is the question we want more clarification on, specifically around transmission from children to adults.
‘The government has asserted publicly that their isn’t the risk of transmission we fear. There’s been some commentary but we haven’t seen the science underpinning that. ‘
Mr Whitehead also invited the government to write to him setting out the science behind the decision it makes with regards to reopening of schools.
Meanwhile, Kevin Courtney, head of the NEU, has also called for the government to share the science behind its decisions with teaching unions.
He also hit out at some of the science behind the government’s previous decision in relation to coronavirus, describing it as ‘wrong’ and claimed it had ‘cost lives’.
Across the English Channel, schools have begun to reopen in France.
Three and four-year-olds were allowed to return to classes following two months of lockdown after the French government eased restrictions this week.
But a heart-breaking photograph of nursery school children forced to play in ‘isolation sections’ in French schools has caused shock and outrage last week.
The photo, taken in the town of Tourcoing on the border with Belgium, shows boys and girls forced to stay away from each other inside areas marked out with chalk.
Three and four-year-old children at a primary school in France were pictured playing alone in chalk ‘isolation zones’ to maintain social distancing amid coronavirus
Children were also shown lining up by sitting or standing on crosses spray-painted on the floor in order to stop them getting too close to one-another
Classrooms also included floor markings with desks spaced out to keep children a safe distance apart from one-another
Lionel Top, a TV journalist with the BFM news channel, took the photo last week and said the children had been told to stay in their zones.
Two other photos showed children lining up for lessons by standing or sitting on crosses spray-painted on the floor, and separated in classrooms by tape.
‘To ensure respect for distances, while taking advantage of recreation, the teaching team drew squares on the ground for the little ones,’ he reported.