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Calls for ‘pop-up’ schools in playgrounds, churches and empty offices to stop ‘disaster of a generation’
BRITAIN needs “pop-up” schools in playgrounds, churches and empty offices to get kids back and stop the “disaster of a generation”, a senior MP has claimed.
Chair of the Commons Education Committee and Conservative MP Robert Halfon demanded urgent action after just one in four children returned to classrooms last week.
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Appearing on GMB, the Tory MP suggested using alternative venues to save kids facing months without an education.
He said: "I know that nationally the Government has been focusing on the economy and health.
"There must be a national plan from the Government, a bold vision of education.
"If we have nightingale hospitals around the country, which is a good thing, why on earth don’t we create Alan Turing schools?
"If the classrooms aren’t big enough why not open up church buildings, village halls, marquees in playgrounds to try and get every child educated.
"It may be that some schools can’t open, but that doesn’t mean no schools should open."
Built to deal with excess demand, the Nightingale Hospital currently lies empty and is not being used.
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The Education Secretary Gavin Williamson this week admitted the plan for all primary school kids to return for a month before the summer holidays has been officially ditched.
Just hours after admitting kids would not all be getting the education they need, the Government unveiled plans for Zoos, Theme Parks and drive-in cinemas to open from Monday.
Mr Halfon has now questioned the Government's priorities, and warned failing to act would leave thousands of children behind.
He said: “We seem to be a country that is prioritising opening zoos, McDonald's, garden centres and pubs over the opening of schools.
"We know that something like 700,000 pupils according to 900 headteachers don’t work at all at home.
"700 children also don’t have proper access to the internet without a computer at home.
"We need to get our children learning again, the attainment gap could widen by up to to 75 per cent and that’s from figures from the Department of the Education.
"We face an epidemic of educational poverty."
New figures from the Department of Education show only 52 per cent opened their doors to children from nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.
The shocking numbers show just 659,000 children were at school last Thursday, 6.9 per cent of all pupils who normally attend.
However, it's not yet known how many kids were eligible to attend last week in the first place.
A volunteer army of retired teachers could be deployed to help kids catch up, under plans being looked at by ministers.
Boris Johnson is considering the move after dropping his vow to get all primary pupils back to school before summer.
Mr Johnson said he was left with no choice because Covid infection rates are still too high.
But he vowed to create a massive “educational catch-up programme”, to be unveiled next week.
The PM’s spokesman said the Government will do “whatever we can to make sure that no child falls behind as a result of coronavirus”.
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Asked if that could mean bringing teachers out of retirement, he said: “We’ve said that we are looking at what further support we can provide.”
The PM enraged parents by tearing up his pledge to get all under children under 11 back to class for a month before the summer.
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