Back to school: Has enough been done to ensure learning won't be disrupted? 

Video report by ITV News Meridian's Social Affairs Correspondent Christine Alsford

Schools across the South East and the Thames Valley are preparing for full reopening next week - amid growing concerns that it will lead to a spike in Covid cases.

Classrooms will look very different with no masks, no requirement for staggered start and finish times, and no need for school bubbles.

There is also a greater emphasis on the need for ventilation now more is known about how the virus spreads.

But has enough been done to ensure pupils won't again suffer disruption to their learning? 

The staff and pupils at Bucklebury Primary School are delighted to be back in the classroom again. They're hoping this year will be one without disruption or restrictions.

Andy Higgs from the West Berkshire Primary Headteachers' Association said: "It's a joy to be back together - to be able to do whole school assemblies - to see the children playing together at break.

"Obviously we need to have some caution and make sure we have our procedures in place for handwashing and ventilation, things like that but we're really excited about what we hope is a more normal year."

In secondary schools, masks are no longer required except on school buses, but testing ahead of a full return to the classroom is. 

New rules on isolation introduced last month should avoid the chaos of last year when hundreds of pupils at a time often ended up being sent home.

Cllr Roz Chadd from Hampshire County Council, Con, said: "That was really disruptive for those children that never became symptomatic or never tested positive in any way. So by stopping the bubbles, hopefully they'll be a lot less disruption than we've seen."

However some think measures to mitigate the spread of Covid have been lifted too soon.

Headteacher Alan Brookes said: "If you look at what's happening in the West Country where masks are being introduced into schools it seems that we are almost pretending everything is fine - but the information and proposals from scientists are that may not be the case."

This term begins with a much greater emphasis on fresh air. The government has promised to provide schools with CO2 monitors - but teaching unions think that's not enough.

Kevin Courtney, General Secretary of the National Education Union said: "We're very worried that they are not going to be rolled out for weeks and weeks - we've no idea what the schedule is.

"And of course diagnosing you've got a problem with ventilation isn't the same as putting right the problem."

Lytchett Minster School is doing what it can to put right the problem, investing in a series of special air purifiers designed to remove Covid particles.

The government says the measures that are now in place do strike the right balance between making schools safe and reducing disruption. 

The hope is that once our classrooms are full next week - they're not empty again until the scheduled school holidays.