Welcome Back to School – from Manchester City Council

Please see below a letter from David Regan, Manchester City Council, Director of Public Health for Manchester

I am writing to you to welcome your children back to school from 8th March onwards.

Thank you to you and to your children for everything you have done during the pandemic, which is why we can now start to come out of lockdown in a safe and steady way.

The first step is to get the city’s children back into school, which is vital for their learning and for their social development.

I know some of you may be feeling anxious, but your school will have a whole range of safety measures in place that they will tell you about, and it will be important to follow. Children will also be reminded at all times about hand-washing and staying 2 metres apart.

Also, we have learnt a lot during the pandemic and we have used that experience to understand where and how COVID-19 spreads.

In Manchester there is no evidence that being in school led to a rise in COVID-19 cases. We also know that the risk to children is much smaller than for adults. This risk will become even smaller with wider use of face masks and COVID-19 testing.

Your child or children will have 3 COVID-19 tests at school and, then, after that they will be able to do the tests from home using kits that you will be given. We really hope you agree to this as it is such an important step in keeping people well.

But, perhaps the most helpful thing I can say to you is that if I had school-age children I would be sending them to school next week. This is because of all the advantages from being back in a classroom and with friends once again.

Finally, thank you again for your support. We can start moving forwards again, and this will be done with safety in mind and reviews at key points.

Please pass on my good wishes to your children for next week as we start to get the city up and running again.

Yours sincerely

David Regan
Director of Public Health for Manchester

Back to school toolkit – click here Back to School Toolkit (Secondary)

To download the letter click Back to school MCC Letter_Secondary Schools welcome back