Calderdale children, and bubbles, sent home after COVID-19 test will be the ‘norm’

It is an eventuality which has been prepared for, education chiefs said when they spoke about the return to school to members of Calderdale Council’s Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Board last night (Wednesday, September 23).

As well as senior council staff, Michael Gosling, Chief Executive of Halifax-based Trinity Multi Academy Trust; Principal and Chief Executive of Calderdale College John Rees; Andrew Fisher, head of North Halifax Grammar School; Head teacher of Burnley Road Academy, Mytholmroyd, Clare Cope, and Philip Hannah, Head teacher of Whitley AP, Halifax, were at the virtual meeting to give councillors the fullest picture possible.

Mark Randall, The council’s Assistant Director for Education and Inclusion, said as of Tuesday, September 22, 91.6 per cent of the borough’s education settings were fully open, less than the national average of 93.7 per cent.

Nine settings were partially open, where pupil bubbles had to close.

On September 22, an 83 per cent pupil attendance was below the national average of 85 per cent.

But last Thursday Calderdale had more pupils back than national and regional averages and more schools fully open than the regional average – that showed how quickly COVID-19 cases could change the situation, said Mr Randall, with the decisions which had been made to send some children home the right one.

“It is the decision we are taking that is the right action based on public health advice.

“Schools are in the process of finalising arrangements for remote learning because that is going to be the ‘norm’ as colleagues across the borough are experiencing,” he said.

Coun Helen Rivron (Lab, Ovenden) had asked whether schools were prepared for the situation, in particular the ability to provide children with IT access where needed so they could fully take part in online learning if it became necessary.

Mr Randall said Government had made allocations of equipment for each school for which they could apply once a school had a positive test result – but said later in the meeting that schools had to utilise these carefully.

“There’s nowhere near enough for one per child – so the challenge for headteachers is how to manage the number of devices, for example if they have to lockdown more than one group,” he said.

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Calderdale Council’s Assistant Director for Education and Inclusion, Mark Randall