When will Portsmouth and Hampshire schools go back? Headteacher is concerned about reopening on March 8

This afternoon, prime minister Boris Johnson outlined his roadmap for the UK exiting lockdown, with a four-step plan of action.

As the first step, all children in England will return to school on Monday, March 8, bringing an end to remote learning.

But while some headteachers say education must be a priority, others are less than convinced about the impact this will have.

Prime minister Boris Johnson said: ‘Classrooms are the best places for our young people.

‘That’s why they were the last thing to close, and will be the first to open.’

Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, also backed the government’s plan.

But Julie Summerfield, headteacher for Horndean Technology College, is concerned that schools may become overwhelmed with cases, as they were last year.

She said: ‘My biggest concern is that we won't be able to test every student that comes through the door.

‘After the October half-term break, Covid-19 spread like wildfire through the school, we lost entire departments.

‘If you bring the whole school back at once then it will spread once again – we shouldn’t even have to consider opening this side of Easter.

‘I feel really sorry for the students, because in regards to exams they don’t know whether they’re coming or going.’

SEE ALSO: ‘Jealous' killer Mark Brandford found guilty of murdering Kayleigh Dunning

Mrs Summerfield added that the government has ‘left the nitty-gritty’ to schools, with details about school bubbles not mentioned by the prime minister.

Breakfast and after-school clubs will also be allowed to start up again, and twice-weekly testing will be in place for secondary school and college students.

Chris Anders, headteacher at Park Community School in Havant, this testing will be key to schools being able to operate.

He said: ‘I’m wanting to crack on and open the school – but only if it’s safe to do so.

‘We have to trust the politicians otherwise we’ll be waiting even longer.

‘If everyone comes back at once we will need to do 400 Covid-19 tests every day, so the kit has to be there to facilitate that.

‘A phased return for students would be even better.

‘The bottom line is that we have to rely on people being sensible – if parents are unwell, their children should not come into school.’

Others in the education sector are more optimistic about schools reopening in full, but with the caveat that it must be safe.

Jane Prescott, headmistress at Portsmouth High School, said: ‘If it’s thought safe for schools to return then we are happy to support that decision.

‘We are excited to welcome our pupils, who haven’t been part of our keyworker provision, back to school. Our guided home learning has been hugely successful; however, the school is looking forward to being able to participate in activities and lessons together even if this means being in bubbles.

‘Our key priority is for the safety of our school community but we also are keen to help our pupils get back into a school routine.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

Our trial offer starts at just £2 a month for the first two months.