Date Published: 31/08/2020
ARCHIVED - Murcian regional Government delays return to school for younger children
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
The measure will affect all the Infantil and Primary students due to return between the 7th and 10th September and seven muniicpalities which were due to return on the 10th and 11th September
The return to school is going to be complicated, as schools attempt to keep children safe from possible Covid contagion, in the full knowledge that most children who do contract the virus will be asymptomatic and show no visible sign of contagion in spite of being able to transmit the virus to elderly members of their family and each other, and try to ensure that children receive an education and emotional support in such unsettling times.
Maintaining some semblance of normality will be challenging and following agreement last week about the basic measures which will need to be implemented in order to ensure a safe “Vuelta al cole” several regions of Spain have taken the decision to delay the return to school to give them more time to prepare classrooms, adapt schools and organise staffing and class content.
On Monday the Murcian regional Government decided to delay the start of the school year to September 14th for younger children.
This decision followed requests from different groups (ampas (parent groups), teacher’s associations, representatives of educational directors, etc.) of the educational community, which has been requesting this measure for several days in order to be able re-organise due to the coronavirus health crisis.
All the Early Childhood and Primary schools ( Infantil y Primaria) in the Region, which were scheduled to begin classes between September 7th and 10th, will begin the course on September 14th.
In the case of Secondary and Baccalaureate, only the educational centers of Águilas, Archena and Mazarrón, which were scheduled to return on September 10th, and Caravaca de la Cruz, Las Torres de Cotillas, Los Alcázares and Totana where the start of the course was scheduled for September 11th will be delayed. The remainder will return as planned.
This decision will not affect Vocational Training students and courses for them will begin on September 15th.
Inthe eventuality that the 14th is a local municipal holiday, classes will begin on the 15th.
On Friday other regions announced similar changes; In Madrid the younger children start on 4th September and the remainder are phased in throughout the month, the oldest not returning until the 28th.
Asturias is not even starting its school returns until 22nd September; the Basque Country starts on the 7th; Galicia is going for the 10th; Navarra on the 4th; the Valencia Region, Cantabria, La Rioja, Aragón are all on the 7th; Castilla La Mancha, Castilla y León on the 9th, Andalucía and the Balearics on the 10th and Catalonia on the 14th.
This morning meetings took place between several groups of teachers, parents, school management and the regional government in which the regional Minister of Education and Culture, Esperanza Moreno, reported on the update of instructions for the beginning of the course that were originally sent to the educational centers before the summer holidays, and will now be sent in an amended format with the agreed changes tomorrow morning.