Coronavirus: Last-minute schools advice on reopening 'reprehensible'

Children at distanced desks in Watlington Primary School

Head teachers and teachers have criticised the government for “last-minute” guidance on what to do during virus outbreaks and local lockdowns.

The guidance for England was published on Friday evening, just days before many schools begin term.

The NAHT school leaders’ union said the timing was “reprehensible”.

In local lockdowns, secondary pupils could be kept home every other fortnight and, in an outbreak, large groups could be told to self-isolate.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said the decision to publish the guidance on a Friday evening before a bank holiday was “nothing short of reprehensible and demonstrates a complete lack of regard for the well-being of school leaders and their teams”.

He said: “It was obvious weeks ago that lockdown advice was necessary.”