Classes being moved online in Wales from 14 December

Welsh Education Secretary Kirsty Williams has announced that secondary schools and colleges in Wales will move to online learning from 14 December.

As part of a ‘national effort to reduce transmission of coronavirus’, Williams said that it was important to make a ‘clear, national direction’ to take pressure off individual schools, colleges, local authorities, parents and carers.

Schools and colleges are safe and secure environments, with almost half of all Welsh schools having had zero covid cases since September. However, Williams highlighted, it is also recognised that education settings being open can contribute to wider social mixing outside the school and college environment.

The decision follows expert advice from Wales’s Chief Medical Officer showing that the public health situation in Wales was deteriorating. Rates of coronavirus have further increased across Wales and have now exceeded 370/100k with a test positivity of 17 per cent. The R rate in Wales has increased to 1.27 with a doubling time of just 11.7 days.

Williams said: “Every day, we are seeing more and more people admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms. The virus is putting our health service under significant and sustained pressure and it is important we all make a contribution to reduce its transmission.

“In his advice to me today, the CMO recommends that a move to online learning should be implemented for secondary school pupils as soon as is practicable. I can therefore confirm that a move to online learning should be implemented for secondary school pupils and college students from Monday next week.

“We recognise, as we did during the firebreak, that it is more difficult for primary and special school age children to undertake self-directed learning. That is why we are encouraging primary and special schools to continue to stay open. Having spoken to local education leaders, I am confident that schools and colleges have online learning provision in place. This will also be important in ensuring that students are at home during this time, learning and staying safe.

“Critically, and this is very important, children should be at home. This is not an early Christmas holiday, please do everything you can to minimise your contact with others. The education family in Wales has pulled together so many times this year to make a real difference to the course of this virus and ultimately to save lives and I know we can do the same again. Together we will keep Wales safe.”