Coronavirus: Schools could shut for over four months and exams be postponed... but not just yet

DUP MLA Peter Weir made the remarks as he set out his reasoning for keeping schools open for the time being at Stormont’s education committee today.

Grilled alongside him was the department’s permanent secretary Derek Baker, who said the Province may have to delay GCSEs and A-Levels.

They were unable to tell MLAs how many schools are closed at present.

However they did reveal that all school inspections for this term have been axed.

Mr Weir stressed repeatedly his actions are all based on advice from top health experts.

He said “it’s clear that we’ll reach a point at which schools will be closed” – and this will also mean shutting childcare facilities at the same time.

As such, a major fear is what will happen to the NHS when he takes “the children of health care workers out of the system”.

Many of those parents will be forced to care for youngsters at home, “denuding” frontline services.

He also indicated a lot of childcare arrangements would also fall upon grandparents, and yet it is the elderly who are most vulnerable to Covid-19.

Therefore, “whatever benefits you would have from removing children from each other, at least in a school setting, would be more than offset by the impact at that stage on those two categories” – namely working parents and grandparents.

He also went on to say when the time does arrive for schools to close, it will not be “a two-week period then everything will go back to normal”, adding: “If you’re to try to genuinely suppress the numbers it’s a much longer period. I’ve heard talk of three months, heard talk of four months. It may be even longer.”

He added: “There’s no ideal solution... There are very major problems beyond simply the education piece.

“Police have expressed concern that while of the streets are emptier, there may be less ‘on-street’ crime, but there’s a real danger we’re going to see domestic violence go through the roof.”

When it comes to school exams, Mr Baker told the committee: “The message is pupils have to prepare as normal, they need to keep working on that.

“We do have an advantage in that most of the examinations, 97% at GCSE level, are CCEA examinations and within our own control. About 15% of A-Level are from English or GB awarding bodies.

“We’re looking at all contingencies... [but] the message is pupils need to prepare as normal. I’ve a 16-year-old who I don’t want to put the books down just yet.

“They need to keep working at that. But you could look at a scenario ultimately when the whole timetable moves to the right. We could accommodate that.

“Then you have to engage with the university sector and the further education sector to change the whole admissions arrangement. That’s all doable. But it’s uncomfortable.”

He said education officials are working “night and day” with non-profit organisations on how they might help “critical workers” when it comes to childcare.

He concluded: “There is no positive outcome here. We are in the business of mitigations and least-worst outcomes.”