Keir Starmer calls for empty theatres, museums and libraries to be used as classrooms

Sir Keir Starmer today urged Boris Johnson to turn the nation’s empty theatres, museums, libraries and leisure centres into classrooms to get children back to school as soon as possible. 

The Government has U-turned on its ‘ambition’ to get all primary school pupils back before the summer holidays as ministers admitted social distancing rules and smaller classes made it impossible.

Sir Keir said there is ‘no doubt that the way children are educated needs to change’ because of the coronavirus crisis and it is clear ‘schools cannot reopen as normal’. 

The need to adhere to the two metre social distancing restriction means schools need to find more space for teaching and disused public buildings could be the answer, the Labour leader argued.

However, his call for the swift return of schools is likely to spark accusations of hypocrisy given some union bosses have strongly opposed Government efforts to reopen classrooms. 

Sir Keir’s comments came amid reports that Mr Johnson is planning to scrap the existing two metre rule by September so that schools can fully reopen for the start of the next academic year. 

The phased reopening of primary schools in England started on June 1 while secondary schools are due to allow some year 10 and year 12 pupils to meet with their teachers from June 15. 

The Government had wanted all primary school pupils to return for a month before the summer holidays. 

But Education Secretary Gavin Williamson admitted on Tuesday that many schools are ‘not able to welcome all primary children back for a full month before the summer’. 

Mr Williamson said ministers will now be ‘working to bring all children back to school in September’.  

Writing in The Telegraph, Sir Keir accused the Government of having a ‘blind spot’ on education which is harming the long term life chances of the current generation of school children. 

He said there had been ‘no plan, no consensus, no leadership’ as he warned children must not be allowed to go six months without proper classroom learning. 

Sir Keir called for the Government to do three things: Repurpose empty buildings to act as classrooms, develop a national plan with teachers to ensure a full September return and make efforts now to reverse gaps in attainment caused by the outbreak.

‘There is no doubt that the way children are educated needs to change in light of the pandemic,’ he said. 

‘Schools cannot reopen as normal. Adaptations need to be made so that teachers, children and parents can be kept safe. 

‘Introducing these changes must be a national effort using the creativity of the British people. Towns, villages and cities are full of empty buildings and spaces that can be repurposed. 

‘Theatres, museums, libraries and leisure centres could be used and opened up for children.’

Sir Keir claimed the Government had been ‘too slow’ to act at every stage of the crisis and that a ‘ridiculous situation’ had now arisen where theme parks will soon reopen but parents do not know when their children will be able to go back to school.

There is now a cross-party push for empty public buildings to be used as classrooms with Robert Halfon, the Tory chairman of the Education Select Committee, having already demanded a similar move. 

Mr Halfon called for Mr Johnson to set up a ‘national education army’ to teach children and help them catch up on their education in the coming months. 

He wants retired teachers, graduates and Ofsted inspectors to work with schools to ‘open school buildings and other buildings and look after these left-behind pupils to make sure they are learning’.