Coronavirus UK: New school rules put pupils in age ‘bubbles’

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School life will be very different when pupils eventually return to school after six months – with contact sports avoided, pupils kept in age group ‘bubbles’ and the threat of everyone going home if two children get sick. 

The UK’s Chief Medical Officers all agree that it is safe for children to go back, but headteachers will have to take a raft of precautions to prevent any outbreaks and stamp them out if they occur. 

The Department of Education has produced detailed guidance for schools, which has been published on its website. This is how the return to classes will work for pupils in England.  

Do I have to send my child back?

Yes, from September it will be compulsory for all pupils to return to school, with parents threatened with fines if they refuse. 

This includes most children who were previously shielding, as this advice was paused on August 1. 

However, pupils who have coronavirus symptoms or have come into close contact with someone displaying them will required to self-isolate at home. 

Getting into school

Pupils using school buses will be expected to stay in their bubbles. 

Those who usually use public transport can continue to do so, but cycling and walking will be encouraged. 

Schools may introduce staggered start times so pupils can travel at quieter times. 

The school day

Pupils will be grouped into small ‘bubbles’, although the Department of Education guidance does not specify their precise size. MailOnline has contacted a spokesman for comment. 

Everyone will be expected to regularly wash their hands and always use tissues for sneezes and coughs. 

Schools will also have to introduce ‘enhanced cleaning procedures’, although masks will not have to be worn. Kitchens will continue to operate as normal, albeit with extra hygiene precautions.    

Assemblies or collective worship with more than one bubble will be avoided. 

Pupils will wear school uniform as usual but will be urged to only bring ‘essentials’, including a lunch boxes, books, stationery and mobile phones. 

Extra-curricular activities

Activities like breakfast and after-school clubs will be expected to continue as normal. 

Music lessons can also continue, but there will be extra precautions if people are ‘singing, chanting or playing wind instruments’ because this can spread Covid even if people aren’t sat close to each other. 

Headteachers can mitigate against this risk by having more social distancing and reducing class sizes to no more than 15. 

School trips both in the UK and abroad will be discouraged.  

Team sport and PE 

Schools will be expected to continue with team sports and PE lessons. 

Pupils will have to be kept in their bubbles and equipment cleaned after each use. 

However, in one major change, the Department for Education says contact sports ‘should be avoided’. 

What if there’s an outbreak? 

If schools  have two or more confirmed cases within 14 days, or there is an overall rise in sickness absence, this will be categorised as an ‘outbreak’ and the school will have to contact the local health protection team. 

This could lead to a mobile testing unit being dispatched to test the infected pupil’s class, followed by their year group, and even the whole school if necessary.  

An outbreak could result in the whole year or school being sent home as a precaution. 

However, government says that ‘whole school closure based on cases within the school will not generally be necessary, and should not be considered except on the advice of health protection teams’.

Schools will be expected to be able to offer ‘immediate remote education’ if there is a local outbreak or a second national lockdown.