What does a socially distanced classroom look like? Inside a school getting ready to reopen for some pupils

. Credit: .

To send back or not to send back? That is the question for many parents ahead of schools reopening next Monday for certain year groups.

This week, during half term, instead of preparing lessons many teachers are drawing up plans to keep pupils as safe as possible. That includes arrows on floors and individual pods for children to play in.

Desks are kept two metres apart

It means when children arrive at Charlotte Sharman Primary School in South London on Monday they will be given a new set of rules.

Arrow on the floor in a corridor showing a new one way system

Just eleven of the school's 350 pupils have been coming in during lockdown. On Monday the school will reopen but only to Year 6 pupils.

Around a quarter of Year 6 pupils are expected to turn up next week. They will be separated into smaller pods and they won't be allowed to mix with anyone outside that group.

  • The children will sit two metres apart at individual work stations

  • They will each get their own set of individual stationery

  • The stationery will be disinfected every night and they won't be able to share it with anyone

But it's once children get outside the classroom that the real challenge begins. Moving around will mean children navigating one way systems and trying to socially distance in corridors and on stairs.

On Wednesday Boris Johnson was asked if he thought it was safe to open schools.

It's a message children need to get and understand and Monday will be the first test of whether schools and social distancing can mix.

Lucrezia Millarini spoke to Director of Netmums Anne-Marie O'Leary and former Chief Inspector of Schools in England Sir Michael Wilshaw who spoke about the challenges of safely reopening schools.