Schools in Wales began to welcome tens of thousands of children back to classrooms on Monday after the Welsh government decided that all pupils should get the chance to meet up with teachers and friends before the end of the summer term.
While most children in other parts of the UK are not scheduled to return to school before later this summer or the autumn, the Labour-led Welsh government said it believed the Covid-19 transmission rate in Wales was low enough for all pupils to spend at least a little time back at school.
The first minister, Mark Drakeford, said: “I’m very pleased that every child in Wales will have the opportunity to meet their classmates and meet their teachers.”
For most, it will only mean a few days in school before the start of the summer holiday, but Drakeford rejected the idea that his government should have been more ambitious.
“We took the decision to do it in a way that was manageable. Our aim was to do something deliverable which could be agreed by our teaching staff, with our non-teaching staff, with our local education authorities.
“Had we been more ambitious the risk is we would have ended up as elsewhere achieving nothing. By having an ambition we knew we could deliver and planning properly, we will have achieved something that nobody else can.”
About 70% of Welsh schools will open for three weeks before breaking up for the summer holidays, as was scheduled. The other 30% will stay open for a further week and take extra time off in October. Parents who choose not to send their children to school this term will not be fined.
Not every school re-opened as planned. Schools on Anglesey in north Wales remained closed after a coronavirus outbreak at a meat processing plant, while a few schools in south Wales did not open because of a water supply problem.
At Roath Park primary school in Cardiff, pupils were clearly excited to be at school. Eleven-year-olds Leen and Hannah said they were delighted to be in the classroom and schoolyard.
Leen said: “When you’re stuck at home you don’t get to see your friends. I like seeing everyone here – even if it’s at a distance.”
Hannah said: “It’s different to how it used to be. We have to social distance and we’re not allowed to hug anyone. That’s hard sometimes.”
The headteacher, Jonathan Keohane, said Roath Park was not just a school but a community, a home from home. “We’re delighted to have the children back,” he said. “Hearing the buzz, seeing the smiling faces makes it all worthwhile.”
The school, where 55 languages are spoken, has 484 pupils. No more than 145 will attend at any one time. Pupils will get at least three days each over the next three weeks. Keohane said 94% of parents and carers had said they were happy to send their children back.
On Wednesdays the school will be closed for a deep clean. A one-way system is in place in the narrow Victorian corridors and start and finish times are staggered. As much teaching as possible is being undertaken in the open air.
Keohane said the pupils were having no problem getting to grips with the restrictions. “Children are very adaptable. They see it as an adventure.”
The Welsh education minister, Kirsty Williams, visited Roath Park on Monday afternoon – her first school visit since lockdown.
Schools have been open throughout lockdown for pupils classed as vulnerable and for children of key workers but Williams said that back in March she had not been sure that all pupils would get back by the end of the summer term.
“It feels amazing to be here,” she said. “If it feels amazing for me, I can only imagine what it must feel like for the staff and the pupils.
“Because of the constraints under which we are working, because we have to keep people safe, clearly it’s not full-time education but it provides that vital opportunity to check in, catch up and prepare and re-establish relationships with members of staff and with each other.
“The alternative would have been to do nothing until September, which would mean for some children six months without being inside a classroom.”
In reference to other parts of the UK that have not reopened schools to all pupils, Williams said: “We’re all trying to deal with these wicked problems of how you manage in this pandemic. I don’t criticise decisions that other people have made. We are focusing on what is right for Wales and what is possible in Wales.”