Primary and secondary schools across Islington returned to school yesterday for the first time since Christmas as lockdown restrictions ease.
While primary pupils are all returning at once, secondary students are returning to in-person classes over the week to allow time for mass testing.
Schools in Inslington have been preparing to reopen since Boris Johnson announced the UK’s roadmap out of lockdown on 22 February. The return of schooling is part of the first step. It will be followed in April by the opening of non-essential shops and outdoor spaces in pubs and restaurants.
Only vulnerable students and children of key workers have been able to attend school in-person over the lockdown. The majority of students studied at home via online classes.
Primary schools have welcomed the reunion of fellow classmates. Ashmount Primary School received 97% attendance on Monday. The school, alongside many in the borough – like Hanover Primary School and Laycock Primary School – celebrated International Women’s Day as it welcomed pupils back to class.
WELCOME BACK ? Today is a great day. Not only do we have all of the children returning but it's also #InternationalWomensDay ?? and the beginning of our #ScienceWeek ? Can't wait to share what we get up to this week! #islingtonschools Have a great day everyone ??
— Ashmount Primary School (@AshmountPrimary) March 8, 2021
Our teachers made such an effort to welcome our children back today!! Thank you teachers and support team!! ?? pic.twitter.com/LwWdnvoisb
— Laycock Primary & Provision for Deaf children (@LaycockPrimary) March 8, 2021
The return of secondary school and college students in Islington is being staggered over the week. It may take longer as all students are required to take a rapid Covid-19 test at school.
They will then be given lateral flow test kits to test themselves for Covid-19 twice a week at home.
The first three tests will be done in school with help from staff. Then, students will continue voluntary testing at home. Unlike primary pupils, they are being asked to wear masks in the classroom. Masks are also necessary during activities where social distancing cannot be maintained.
Outdoor after-school sports and activities are also restarting this week
Elizabeth House community centre, which runs an after-school club for Gillespie Primary School, Parkwood school and St John’s Highbury Vale school, has reopened its clubs again. Effie Cohen, Operations and Communications Officer at Elizabeth House, said that attendance was lower than usual. This could be because a lot of parents are still on furlough. The children that had attended though were “super excited,” she said, after “two months of being bored at home”.
Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford University, warned that the return to school could see Covid-19 transmission increase. She told the i: “We’ve got kids going back to schools, and that’s absolutely necessary, but there may well be a slight increase in transmissions as a result of it. But if we can get the transmission rate down really low, then we can cope with a small increase.”
Last Monday, Chief executive of Islington Council Linzi Roberts-Egan said only about 20% of parents had given permission for their children to be regularly tested by the previous Friday. “That in itself is a worry,” she said.
Islington’s Family Support Services shared some 5-minute relaxation activities to help calm students who may be feeling anxious about the return to school.
