London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

What can we learn from schools that have reopened?

What can we learn from schools that have reopened?

Millions of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to return to school within weeks, after months of disrupted education as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Parents and teachers where schools have already reopened tells us what they've learned from their children returning to the classroom.
Masks and digital-only homework




Masks are a big talking point in Scotland.

Colette Reilly says since her daughters, aged 12 and 14, returned to the classroom, a teacher has told them the current lack of rules about wearing masks is "likely to change" at the school in Paisley.

It comes after criticism from some pupils saying "it's not possible to social distance" inside schools. One high school in Edinburgh has already chosen to tell pupils and staff to wear face coverings while moving around between lessons.

"I've not got an issue with [my children wearing masks]," Colette tells Radio 5 Live.

"Even if it's [for a] year, in terms of a life span, it's a very short-term issue. At the end of the day, this isn't about individual families, this is about the collective. We all need to look after each other."

She says the "significant changes" her daughters have noticed about the return to school life include using hand sanitiser at stations throughout school, social distancing from other students inside classrooms, and being given digital-only homework.

The buzz of the classroom


 


Mike Corbett was happy to return to face-to-face teaching at his secondary school in East Dunbartonshire earlier this month.

"Just that buzz of classroom discussion that you get - that's completely impossible online - is a delight to have and one of the best things that we like about teaching," the English teacher tells Radio 5 Live.

Mike, who is national executive member for the NASUWT Scotland teaching union, thinks the pupils are "very happy to be back" too - but there's plenty of pandemic protocols for them to get used to such as regularly using hand sanitiser, not doing group work, and wiping down their desks before leaving the room.

Mike also has things to adapt to. He's frustrated by a line marking out two metres to keep him a safe distance from pupils, because it means he cannot approach individuals who are struggling with understanding his lesson.

But it's "just as well" the line is there, Mike says. On Thursday, his entire classroom had to be evacuated and cleaned as a result of a pupil displaying coronavirus symptoms.

"The only reason I was able to sleep soundly on Thursday night was because I did not cross that two-metre line," he says.

Despite comments from the UK's chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, attempting to reassure parents, pupils and teachers that schools are safe, Mike says "staff out there are very anxious still about the situation".

He said the recent increase in cases in Scotland means the virus will "inevitably" get into the classroom - "and then the fear is that there's a spread in schools".

How safe is school pick-up?



Liz Silverman helps to collect her grandchildren Jack, nine, and Betsy, five, from school


Liz Silverman wants face coverings to be made mandatory within the grounds of her grandchildren's primary schools.

"At collection time all the mums, dads and grandparents have to wait outside the classroom as the teacher will not release a child until they see the parent or grandparent. Social distancing is not possible," she says.

Liz, 69, says her daughter and daughter-in-law are both teachers, so would not be able to return to work without her help picking up her four grandchildren from their two separate primary schools, two days a week.

"I don't feel safe... I would like to say 'no' but I can't let them down," Liz says.

Liz from Northwood, London, believes making adults wear masks when dropping off or picking up schoolchildren is a "simple thing" to solve a surge in cases and assuage her worries about the safety of her husband, who has been shielding. "If I bring anything home to him, it could be devastating."

And the view from Germany


Alex Nunn lives in Berlin, where her 15-year-old step-children have been back to school for two weeks.

"There was no extra spacing or anything like that going on in the school," she says, but that's because teachers and pupils there must wear masks everywhere around the school, apart from once they're seated at their desks.

Alex, 50, tells Radio 5 Live she struggles to understand why some people in the UK see wearing a mask as "such a big problem", and hopes some anxious parents will learn lessons from her sister, who she has been visiting in London.

"My five-year-old nephew is wearing one here when he's going on public transport. Somehow my sister's managed to make it a bit of an adventure, and fun, and he understands why he's wearing it - and I simply don't get why it's being perceived as being a big deal to wear a mask here," she says.

The World Health Organization has said children aged 12 and over should wear masks in line with national recommendations, citing evidence suggesting teenagers can infect others in the same way as adults.

"As soon as they get up to move around the school, go to the loo, go in the playground, they're wearing masks the whole time," she says.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×