The United Kingdom was among the first European countries that closed down to slow the spread of COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic. After a few months, they opened up again business as usual and started to get back to their lives with people going back to work and children going back to classes.
There wasn’t much concern with sending children back to school because there were plenty of studies that cited the risk to students in contracting the virus was minimal. Children under the age of 16 made up just 1% of the COVID-19 cases during the first peak the virus in England, even though 19% of the population was affected cited a study led by Public Health England.
The country enforced that the students have to attend classes in person, unless they test positive for COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone who has had it.
This is a difference between the UK and the United States. In the US, depending on the state, you do not have to attend classes if you are at risk or chose not to. This decision came with opposition from UK teaching unions and parents who do not think that the students should go back.
“Teachers want to see schools reopening… but they are very clear that this has to be done safely,” Educational Institute of Scotland’s general secretary Larry Flanagan said in a statement.
Quote on how he felt with schools remaining open.
Similarly to the US, the UK leaves the decision on how education is to be handled to each region. But, some measures remain the same across the board in teachers encouraging frequent hand washing, students physically distancing from each other, and at the first sign of symptoms in themselves or a family member they need to stop attending school.
Now as COVID-19 cases rise increasingly in Europe, the UK is struggling to keep it contained. To date there are 1,256,725 confirmed cases and 50,365 deaths across the UK. At first the government thought it was safe enough to go back to school, this was not the case, as cases among children and adults have increased. The decision to keep children in school is in question with more and more schools opting to transition to remote learning.
“Insert quote,” said a teacher from
How is remote education going
Issues with poverty across the UK during the first lockdown – how is it being addressed
Are students engaged
Are kids getting the same quality of education
What issues are students facing learning remote
Are the issues similar to those of the United States students?