January term start delayed in Wales amid Omicron concerns

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The next term will start two days late for all students in Wales to give schools time to plan for the ongoing Covid disruption.

Education Secretary Jeremy Miles, who has made plans to start the term in a letter to school administrators, seen by WalesOnline, said all pupils should be back by January 10 and “where possible” pupils should be in school for the next semester’s lessons. .

He added that the two planning days would also allow secondary schools to organize online learning, if needed, and for students to “sit safely” for the January GCSE exams which are set to begin on January 11.

Principal leaders reacted furiously to the announcement, saying it was not enough to keep schools safe. Shadow Education Secretary Laura Ann Jones said everything possible must be done to keep schools open.

Many schools have been affected by the absence of staff and pupils and unions fear this will continue to affect the next semester without stricter safety measures. They cautioned that schools cannot remain open or offer distance learning without staff.

ASCL Cymru director Ethne Hughes said the Welsh government had abdicated its responsibility for the safety of Covid and that the “flaky” plan would not keep people safe.

Semester start plans contained in the Minister of Education’s letter:

All schools must use the first two days of term for staff planning Secondary students are asked to take three lateral flow tests instead of two per week Schools can reintroduce masks that must be worn by all staff, visitors and secondary school pupils in indoor areas where maintaining On social distancing – as required in the last GCSE semester of January going forward

Read more: Get the latest education news here.

The letter adds that chiefs should plan your mitigation measures for the start of the semester based on your “too high” level of risk. As part of this, the Education Secretary has issued a 2020 Coronavirus Act Notice that allows schools to operate with staggered start and end times from the start of the term.

Everyone should also prioritize getting boosters when offered, and the minister said schools should allow this in their planning.

In a separate statement, the minister announced a £24m package to help the pupils hardest hit by learning loss.

When will the students start the semester next?

In a separate planning note for schools, the Wales government said: “All schools must use the first two days immediately after the Christmas and New Year holidays as their planning days.

“Because term dates differ across Wales, these two days will not be the same for all schools. Each local authority will confirm with the schools the dates that have been set as planning days. Local authorities will also inform schools which INSET days are initially scheduled for the spring semester how they will be conducted. Customize these planning days.

“All learners will be back in service by Monday, January 10 at the latest (many of them during the last days of the previous week).”

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Education Secretary Jeremy Mail (Photo: Western Post and Echo)

The full message to school leaders today from Education Secretary Jeremy Miles:

Dear School Principal,

I want to thank you for your continued hard work and commitment during what I know has been a very difficult period.

Our collective priority continues to be to reduce disruption to education, ensuring learners continue to receive personalized learning where possible, as well as protecting school staff and learners.

We know that during this term there has been disruption due to staff absence which has resulted in some schools having to make the difficult decision to move certain classes/groups of the year to distance learning for short periods. In recognition of this, and current levels of uncertainty regarding the Omicron effect, I want to give schools as much clarity as possible now to enable you to plan and prepare for a return in January.

Therefore, I am providing all schools with two planning days at the start of the new spring term, this will allow you time to assess staffing capacity and take measures to support the return of learners.

I also recognize that what we learn over the coming weeks about Omicron may require interventions for higher risk levels as provided in our local decision framework.

Therefore, as a precautionary approach, it would be wise for you to plan to mitigate the return based on your “too high” level of risk. As part of this preparation, I am issuing a 2020 Coronavirus Notice to allow schools to operate with staggered start and end times from the start of the new term as an additional easing if schools determine this is appropriate as part of the risk assessment process.

Planning days will also allow high school leaders to plan learners to safely take their January exams. Attached are more details of an additional support package for learners that I will be announcing today.

Please also take advantage of the planning days to ensure that you have solid plans for transitioning to distance learning. This could be for individual classes/groups of the year or perhaps for the whole school, depending on your employment pressures.

Schools should also reconsider their contingency plans to ensure that years of testing are prioritized for on-site provision if at any time there is a need to restrict in-person learning. When revising your contingency plans, you should also consider what arrangements may need to be made for vulnerable learners and children of critical workers during any periods of disruption. Attached are some additional tips to support you on your planning days.

We will also ensure that if there are any further updates during the holiday period, we will share them before your planning days. We will also continue to work closely with education administrators and labor unions over the coming weeks.

I’m rolling out our advice on covering the face in the new semester. In addition, it is very important that staff and learners continue to test for regular lateral flow at a specified time so that we can unknowingly find and isolate those potentially infectious to others. It is especially important, now and in the new term, as we gather evidence and build our understanding of the Omicron variant.

Going forward, our strong expectation is that all staff and learners of secondary age and above should test three times per week with the LFD (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) per week before returning to school and then continue to test regularly three times per week after the start of term in january.

We will increase our communications to remind employees and learners of the importance of testing on this basis. Our arrangements for employees to provide special education remain in effect.

However, the ‘protection test’ approach for these staff will continue to be considered along with the welfare staff and, where appropriate, any changes in the welfare staff approach will be reflected in private school staff.

Booster-dose vaccination for all eligible staff, children and youth, remains the mainstay in fighting the harm of the virus, along with the usual NPIs and testing regimes.

Everyone should prioritize getting reinforcement when offered, and I would ask schools to allow this in their planning.

It will still be important that no one with COVID-19 symptoms go to school at the beginning of the semester and should book a PCR test.

This is a rapidly developing situation and we continue to monitor the latest data, further updates may be required if any significant developments occur during the Christmas holiday period. In these circumstances, we will work closely with your education administrators to consider how best to provide you with the time required to make any necessary adjustments to mitigation measures at the beginning of the semester.

I would like to finish by reiterating my thanks to you for your tremendous hard work during the most challenging times. I hope you and all of your school staff get the well-earned Christmas vacation.

Thanks a lot

Jeremy Miles AS/MS

Teachers respond:

ASCL Cymru Director Ethne Hughes said: “We are disappointed that the Welsh government feels it remains appropriate to rely on the same fragile framework of Covid protection measures that have proven woefully inadequate throughout the autumn period.

“The Education Secretary’s letter to schools has thrown leaders across Wales into a baffle and effectively handed them the responsibility to decide what they must do to keep learners and staff safe.

“Essentially they are being asked to prepare for all contingencies within two days of planning at the start of the next term. This is simply not good enough and leaders need absolute clarity and clear guidance from the Welsh government on what they need to do.

“Schools continue to experience egregious levels of absenteeism among both students and staff and only last night the UK’s Chief Medical Officer warned that the Omicron variant is moving at an enormous rate and poses a very serious threat.

“As the Omicron variant has the potential to make the situation worse, schools across Wales need to have clear and consistent messages from the Welsh government as well as a more robust framework that is fit for purpose and provides them with the procedures and reassurance they need.”

Laura Doyle, director of the National Association of School Administrators in Semru, warned schools cannot remain open or offer distance learning if staff are sick.

“We welcome the changes announced today in the planning of days and the reduction in session times,” she said.

“Schools have suffered significantly from staff absences since September, and as the new alternative is more portable, we can be sure that Covid will continue to affect staffing levels.

“School settings cannot remain open and distance learning cannot be supported if the workforce is unavailable.

“This is why we are urging the Welsh Government to introduce additional mitigation measures, such as staggered session times to control the flow of learners and parents entering and leaving school, at the start of the next term.”

Julian Kennedy, Principal of Ysgol Dyffryn Taf School in Carmarthenshire, said: “I welcome the focus the Welsh Government has placed on the health and well-being of pupils, families and staff in its planning for the start of the spring semester in January.

“It is essential that these concerns remain at the forefront of all planning and thinking ahead of the new semester. It is also important that plans remain under review in a rapidly changing state.

“The staff and learners have worked incredibly hard, under very difficult conditions, not only in the fall but since the pandemic began. To continue to do so, it is essential to maintain their well-being.”

The Welsh government has announced an additional £24m in funding to help pupils hardest hit by the pandemic.

Funding includes:

£7.5m to support learners in exam years £7m to support learners whose attendance has decreased during the pandemic £9.5m to support FE and Sixth Form learners as they move to the next stage of their education or career.

For exam years:

£7.5 million in additional support for learners in exam years. This will include additional teaching time and learning resources. The education minister said the money will help learners develop their skills, knowledge and confidence, as well as support those who are anxious about exams. Funding will be directed towards schools with larger numbers of learners who receive free school meals. Dedicated support will be offered to support Year 11 students with low attendance to complete their GCSEs or help them reach the next stage in their education or start their careers, as well as support students in other years

Education Secretary Jeremy Miles announced the education package, saying: “We have prioritized education throughout the pandemic. But we do know that the pandemic has inevitably caused disruption, with evidence that some learners, including those in exam years or from low-income backgrounds, have felt the biggest impact.

We cannot allow the epidemic to derail any young person. This new funding will help ensure that those most affected receive the extra support they need to move forward with confidence into the next stage of their lives.

Our national mission is to address the impact of poverty on educational attainment and to set high standards for all. We will do everything in our power to ensure that all learners are on a level playing field and are able to reach their full potential.”

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