the children's commissioner and longfield —— anne longfield.o geoff barton, the general secretary of the association of school and college leaders. he said everyone agrees it's a priority to open schools. i think what the article, essentially, with the slightly petula nt essentially, with the slightly petulant owner telling us is the thing is, one that the prime minister and that all primary children are going to back into school and at the very next day, the government on‘s guidance made that impossible because of the conditions, it said. it is not a good look, secondly, very government that encourages people to go to pubs and measurements, incentivising them to do that when children are sitting at home. and thirdly, by blaming the unions for all of this. we, the same trade unions have worked with the welsh government where every child has been able to go back into skill before the summer holiday because we had the moral imperative to it. there's a lot of talk from the government behind the scenes about this trade—off, if it comes to that, if

anne longfield is right. all children back in school in september. yes, and it is something that a lot of people are embracing, the idea children should be back at school, but if infection rate are higher and that is perfectly possible given that the spikes we are seeing, if infection rates are higher, presumably the government is withholding the position that that might not be appropriate to open schools. we do think schools should open and remain open. obviously, we have to keep theseissues open. obviously, we have to keep these issues under review, as we monitor the science. led by the scientific advice on all these issues. we we think it is very important, we agree with anne longfield about the priority for schools. it is usually important that schools are open and that children are in school. we want to make sure that no child suffers from the fact that we have had the lot down since march, we want children to recover their lost education, we wa nt to recover their lost education, we want them to be back

the children's commissioner for england, anne longfield, said schools have been working "flat out" toure they can reopen safely. well, i'm very pleased that the prime minister is making schools a priority. i've been arguing for some time that my fear was that children were being left behind in this relaxation of lockdown. they couldn't go to the park, they didn't have youth clubs, many couldn't go to school and many couldn't learn because they didn't have that home environment or indeed the tech to do so. my argument was that children needed to be made a priority. of course the economy is very, very important, but children's education is too and that will have an impact on the economy. so i'm very pleased that this has been stated very clearly and now this needs to be followed through to september to make it a reality. britain's home office has formally requested the royal navy's help to deal with migrants attempting to cross the english channel from france. a total of 151 people reached the uk via small boats yesterday, following record numbers earlier in the week. simonjones is in d

. —— i think anne longfield is right it is a horrible story from israel about an outbreak taking offmajority of evidence shows that children aren't epidemiological he important in the transmission of this virus. but their education is obviously incredibly important. and john we have seen with the examiner's office in scotland how u nsatisfa ctory examiner's office in scotland how unsatisfactory lack of education, lack of teaching, and back of sitting exams is for those people who perhaps didn't get the grades they wanted because of their marking down policy that all exam boards have had to use now. it has been variable, it has been random, how do you assess where exams don't take place if there is continuous assessment, you could continue in that way but some children do better in exams. there has also been that sense of depriving. i'm not saying children love to take exams, but there is a sort of depriving children of the great sort of moments in their lives. you are defined in some ways by gca shed sees “— defined in some ways by gca shed sees —— my gca set these or if you go to un

anne longfield says children have a right to an education.ne else, but the fact of the matter is, the virus is with us. we have to find ways to adapt. we have to find ways to manage it. and children have been out of school now for six months. it has been the biggest disruption since world war ii. we know that they have been struggling, many children, in terms of home learning. many won't have been learning at all. and the most disadvantaged children are the ones who are falling further behind. the education minister nick gibb has insisted that all pupils will return to school in england in september. schools are our priority. all children will be returning to school this september. of course, schools have been open partially since june. we've had reception, year one, and year six returning to school. by the time we end the summer term, about 1.6 million children were in school, but we do want all children back in school in september, including in areas that are subject to local restrictions such as in greater manchester, and there are a huge

we'll get more reaction to this news from the children's commissioner for england, anne longfield, in via small boats yesterday following record numbers earlier in the week. our reporter simonjones is in dover for us this morning. simon, what could the royal navy do that the border force can't? a lot of discussion this morning about what the royal navy might be able to do if they are called in to help, and it is not straightforward. not at all. those details are currently being thrashed out. yesterday we had 15 boats managing to reach the uk, more than 500 people have made thejourney to reach the uk, more than 500 people have made the journey over the past three days alone. in the past hour we have seen some border force fa ns past hour we have seen some border force fans turn up at the port behind me, suggesting they are expecting more to arrive today. the home secretary has created a new role, called the channel threat co—ordinator. she has appointed a man called dan omani, a former marine who served in iraq and kosovo, and his goal is to try and make the route unviable. he may not

this anne longfield says children have a right to an education.to school is a national priority. a group of womens' charities and unions have called on parliament to suspend a conservative mp who's been accused of rape. they say safety must be paramount and the house of commons should be no different from any other workplace. the former minister was arrested on saturday and later released on bail. the conservative party said it took any complaint "incredibly seriously". this is bbc news, the latest headlines: almost 80 people have been killed and thousands injured in a huge explosion in the lebanese capital beirut. the lebanese prime minister says a confiscated haul of ammonium nitrate caused the devastating blasts — he promises those responsible would be held accountable. the uk's biggest listed companies have failed to address their bosses' huge salaries during the coronavirus pandemic. that's according to a report from the cipd, the professional body for human resources, and the high pay centre think tank. despite some high—profile reports of e

the children's commissioner for england, anne longfield, says schools should be the last places to closeure lockdowns, after pubs, restaurants and nonessential shops. ms longfield said children were too often "an afterthought", and education should be the last thing to close. of course, i want life to be normal, like everyone else, but the fact of the matter is, the virus is with us. we have to find ways to adapt. we have to find ways to manage it. and children have been out of school now for six months. it has been the biggest disruption since world war ii. we know that they have been struggling, many children, in terms of home learning. many won't have been learning at all. and the most disadvantaged children are the ones who are falling further behind. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. a pretty stern message from the children's commissioner for the government. 0bviously everyone wants schools to reopen but it is pretty complex in terms of what happens in a month's time, isn't it? yes, it is. there are concerns that when you start opening up schools and you st

reopening of schools has been described as a "priority" by the children‘s commisioner for england, anne longfielde government knows enough to be able to categorically say that that is the safe thing to do, so that is a big concern of mine come september. i am ready and they are ready to go back. i have had some quite fraught conversations with some of my friends, really good friends about going back to school, and, you know, some of them are, like, "oh, god, just get them back. i want to get them back here. we need to get them back here now!" will all of you be sending your children back in september? i want them to go back. yes, i will. i will be sending them back in september. but for others, the decision is even harder. oh, well done, great shot! lorraine‘s11—year—old son george is due to start secondary school next month, but she is terrified. because my stepfather passed away from coronavirus back in april, i have seen a different side of this and how serious it is, and on so many different levels, and it is such a cruel virus. and while george is desperate to start, his mum is still undecid

that coming from the children's commissioner for england, anne longfield. concern about what will happen if local lockdowns have to be imposed, if there is a rise in cases in certain areas. one union suggesting that a one week on, one week of the system could be employed to ensure as many people are taught safely as possible. that will be the case, potentially. the union argues a local doctor and came into force. there is a bit of a suggestion that the unions are having to do some of the unions are having to do some of the planning the government hasn't done to ensure the system is workable. uncertainty and questions yes,, but nothing at this point that looks to be getting on the way of schools are reopening in september and welcome back all pupils. that is still the government's intention. thank you. swimming pools, gyms and leisure centres are to reopen in wales from today. and, in a ukfirst, children's soft play areas will also be able to open for the first time since march. swimming pools, gyms and leisure centres areas which are not easy to clean,like