Andy Burnham explains why schools in Greater Manchester need to close during lockdown

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has said that schools should close during the new national lockdown.

Andy Burnham says schools in Greater Manchester need to shut for a ‘true reset’, so the country gets the ‘full benefits of a national lockdown’.

On Saturday night Boris Johnson confirmed England is to go into a new lockdown from Thursday, November 5th, for four weeks, subject to Parliamentary approval.

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Lots of non-essential businesses will be forced to close, but education centres like schools and universities can stay open.

However, Mr Burnham explained why he thinks schools should close on TV this morning, saying ‘it would help everybody to have a real reset moment’.

The mayor told Kay Burley on Sky News: “We feel it more in a Tier 3 area where Greater Manchester has had a high number of cases for a long time.

“If we’re going to do this, let’s do it properly and get cases right down before January – traditionally the most difficult month in the NHS. Let’s get the full benefits of a national lockdown.

“Of course it’s difficult closing schools, but I think schools will be less disrupted if we get this real circuit break. To be honest, it’s not a proper circuit break unless we really do close everything.”

Mr Burnham explained that there’s been huge disruption for school kids in the North West as many pupils have been sent home to isolate, after he was asked whether children had already missed enough of their education.

He said: “I understand that, my daughter is off school again today because they’re being sent home all of the time.

“If you look at schools in the North West, kids are going home more than other parts of the country. Schools are already hugely disrupted by the high number of cases we have in our communities.”

Mr Burnham added: “It’s why I’ve made the call that we can’t have exams at the end of the year because there are kids from more deprived areas in the community that have already spent a long time out of school and there is no way the exams can be fair.

“We need to have a system of assessment like they’re suggesting in Wales.”