THE PM will be BANNED from unilaterally ordering the country’s schools to shut down ever again, under new proposals in Parliament today
Backers of the radical plan say it will stop kids ever having to endure another “apocalyptic” year stuck at home and deprived of their friends and books.
Tory MP Robert Halfon is tabling a Bill to reclassify schools as ‘essential infrastructure’ – placing them alongside hospitals, nuclear power stations and supermarkets.
A new ‘triple lock’ would be created to stop No10 from being able to order a draconian shutdown in England at the flick of a pen.
Instead, ministers would have to consult the Children’s Commissioner, let Parliament debate and vote on it, and give MPs a vote on renewing it every three weeks.
Mr Halfon said it would stop the “disaster” of a school shutdown happening again.
He said: “These closures wielded a hammer blow for students’ education and wellbeing.
“Their effect was apocalyptic, threatening the futures of millions of pupils and students and stopping them climbing the ladder of opportunity.”
The boss of the powerful education select committee added: “If we had prevented schools closing in the first place, these children would have remained in the classroom, learning and preparing themselves for the world of work.
“We owe it to our children to safeguard their educational futures that Covid-19 put on hold.”
His Bill, known as a Ten Minute Rule Motion, has got the backing of a string of bug guns in kids education, including Children’s Commissioner Rachel De Souza.
Throwing her name behind the fight, Dame Rachel said: “There is no doubt that children paid a high price for their time away from school and now is the moment to put children at the heart of the recovery from the pandemic.
“That is why it is absolutely right for us to do all we can to keep schools open for children. “A ‘triple lock’ would mean children’s needs were considered at every stage to keep children in school.”
Covid has blasted massive holes in kids’ education and left millions behind in their reading, writing and maths.
Pupils missed a staggering 115 days of in school classroom time during the pandemic, experts have said.
While the shutdown has also taken a huge toll on the mental health of kids and teens.
A string of alarming studies have found that youngsters are less happy and more depressed as a result of the school shutdown.
As the Bill is tabled by a backbench MP, it only stands a chance of becoming law if the government accepts it.
