A teacher fears the Government is "rushing" to get students back to school before vital analysis, such as the 'track-and-trace' system, is in place.

Ben Webster-Whiting, a teacher at Oakwood Park Grammar School in Maidstone, is worried if some pupils return to classrooms on Monday, June 1, as the Government is suggesting, we could see "another spike in cases, which could lead to a full lockdown all over again".

It comes after a Sheppey headteacher slammed an MP for his bemusement at teachers' concerns about pupils returning to school on Monday, June 1; and a Minster headteacher said there is "no such thing as social distancing in a school".

Mr Webster-Whiting - who highlights this is his personal opinion and is not speaking on behalf of Oakwood Park - says although he wants to see children returning to classrooms as soon as realistically possible, their safety should be the utmost priority.

The maths teacher thinks there needs to be more analysis in place before children go back - such as a contact tracing system.

A 'track-and-trace' app has been designed by the NHS, to let people know when they have been in close contact with someone Covid-19 positive.

It could help decide who needs to be quarantined and ease social distancing measures.

The app is being trialled on the Isle of Wight but it is unclear when exactly it will be rolled out nationally.

Mr Webster- Whiting said: "All the teachers I have spoken to think it is best for children to return to school because of the benefits of face-to-face teaching, but we don't want to go back if we don't feel it is safe for students and staff.

"I feel it has been rushed - I understand that it will allow more parents to return to work which will help the economy and benefit us all, but if schools reopening leads to another spike in cases we could go into full lockdown all over again.

"Something like 'test-and-trace' should surely be there for schools to reopen so they can see if the number of cases is growing in particular areas of the country and then close schools there, and leave the rest of them open, instead of just applying a blanket method."

The 45-year-old says he does not have much confidence in certain aspects of the Government's handling of the pandemic so far.

"I just don't want them to rush because this will be worse for us all"

He said: "I don't have a lot of trust in what we are being told - for example what happened with care homes and the increase in cases there. Returning to schools won't be in any way as severe, but it could still be a big problem.

"I'm not against getting the schools reopen, so I have been quite upset when I've seen some mainstream media saying 'how is it any different to supermarket workers who are out on the shop floor every day?' But it's because we have just got the children's best interests at heart - that's why we go into the profession in the first place."

However, the Maidstone teacher, who has been sending his students work over email during lockdown, agrees with the Government's choice of which academic years should return first.

He said: "I understand why the Government has chosen these years because they will be preparing for secondary school or their GCSEs or A-levels but I just don't want them to rush because this will be worse for us all.

"Our key priority is the students."

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