Pupil mental health and well-being will be an ‘initial priority’ when schools reopen, says Sheffield councillor

School buildings across the city have been closed to all but vulnerable children and those whose parents are key-workers since January 5, with remote learning in place for all other pupils due to current Covid-19 restrictions.

The Prime Minister has warned that March 8 will be the “earliest” date in which the Government could "responsibly" allow schoolchildren to return to the classroom, despite initial plans to reopen schools after the February half-term break.

Councillor Abtisam Mohamed, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills at Sheffield Council, has said the first priority for when schools do reopen will be the well-being and mental health of pupils who have now faced a year of severely disrupted teaching.

She said: “Once schools reopen for all children, we will need to support them to settle pupils back into their schools and everyday routines. Children’s well-being and mental health is our initial priority.

"Schools will need to assess children to determine their progress in learning during the lockdown and to get a more accurate starting point for them resuming work in school. Schools have worked hard to support children to learn remotely at home during the lockdown and they will have to review how effective this has been for individual children.

"Once this new starting point is established, schools are best placed to determine what is best for children to continue to progress and to make up for any apparent gaps that might have developed.

"We will be working with schools and with our improvement partner, Learn Sheffield, to determine what city-wide programmes and support are of greatest use. Given the need to ensure children’s well-being and mental health, we will need to be careful to ensure that we do not unduly increase pressure on children.”

Next month’s target reopening date for schools is currently not set in stone and will be somewhat depend on the rollout of the vaccine programme.

Speaking last month, Boris Johnson told MPs it was the Government's intention to set out its plan for easing lockdown in the week beginning February 22.

He also promised a "programme of catch-up" and summer schools to help mitigate the impact of remote learning.

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