Northamptonshire schools ignore parents plea to close early for Christmas

Petition wants to cut risk of kids self-isolating instead of joining in family celebrations
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Education chiefs have no plans to shut schools early to protect Northamptonshire's kids and teachers from the possibility of spending Christmas isolating from their families.

Parents and teaching unions are calling for a switch to online learning for the last few days before the holidays.

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Some schools in other parts of the country have already taken the plunge and decided to close early for Christmas and an online petition is set for force a debate in Parliament.

But the County Council's Covid Education Cell lead, Paul Andrews, said: “In all of this we've followed Department for Education guidance when it comes to schools.

“Christmas guidance that's come out is really, really clear and it says children should continue to go to school.

“As we've followed guidance all the way through I'm fairly certain that's what we will continue to do.”

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to loosen restrictions between December 23 and December 27 to allow families to mix over the festive period.

Students are due to break up from school a week before Christmas Day. Photo: Getty ImagesStudents are due to break up from school a week before Christmas Day. Photo: Getty Images
Students are due to break up from school a week before Christmas Day. Photo: Getty Images

But mums and dads warn there could be a "lot of lonely grandparents" as kids will still be in school up to December 18.

Anyone testing positive for Covid-19 must self-isolate for ten days while those identified as close contacts by Test and Trace need to self-isolate for two weeks.

An online petition is likely to force a debate in Parliament after gathering more than 110,000 signatures, including around 1,000 from Northamptonshire

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Organiser Elisabeth Harris said: "Schools should move to online learning from 9 December so that all students and school staff have a chance to isolate for two weeks and then can safely meet older relatives.

PM Boris JohnsonPM Boris Johnson
PM Boris Johnson

"We need to be able to look forward to family celebrations at the end of a difficult year. There will be so many lonely grandparents if measures aren't taken to allow households to mix safely. There will be many very risky meetings which could lead to unnecessary pressure on the NHS."

Figures shown to Friday's weekly Covid-19 media briefing showed 99 per cent of the county's schools were open up to November 22.

But four secondaries — Moulton, Wollaston, Bishop Stopford and Buccleuch Academy — are known to have shut year group bubbles, although there may be more as headteachers are given discretion over who to inform about closures.

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Moulton School headteacher Angela Dabbs told parents on Friday: "Our plan is to introduce a ‘circuit break’ for at least ten days before we try again to

resume a ‘normal’ curriculum for Year 11."

But she warned: "I fully expect further cases to emerge over the forthcoming days."

Public Health Northamptonshire figures showed around one in ten students are learning from home due to Covid-19 related absences among staff and pupils and it has identified 31 active outbreaks — two or more positive tests in the previous 28 days linked by time or place — involving 306 cases.

Secondary schools are the second most likely source of Covid-19 transmissions behind supermarkets, according to Public Health England data.

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The PM last week dismissed the idea of schools locking down early for Christmas, saying: "We want to keep pupils and young people in school as much as we possibly can.

"Where it's possible to learn remotely that can be a good thing but on the whole we want to see pupils and kids in school to get the benefit of learning."