It’s too early for schools to reopen on 1 June. Teachers’ concerns are justified

Editorial: There is no doubt that trying to make six-year-olds stay two metres apart is a practical impossibility

The nature of schooling means that close contact of all concerned cannot be fully avoided (Getty)

There is something distasteful about anyone who is not a teacher calling for teachers to be “heroes”, an imaginative euphemism for “victims of coronavirus”.

Volunteering others to put their lives on the line is not a noble sort of activity; bravery is one thing that cannot be done remotely. Many teachers and their unions are understandably concerned about the risks to themselves, their families and the children in their care from a full return to the classrooms (though vulnerable children and those of key workers have been at school for some time). Their concerns are justified.

The unions are adamant that their members should not return unless the schools are “safe”. But what is “safe” in this context? Apart from a hermit existence, there are no entirely safe environments free from even the possibility of infection. The teaching unions rightly say they want to hear “the science”, but that is unclear. It seems to be the case that children are less seriously affected by Covid-19, but the extent to which they can carry and spread the coronavirus is still being researched. There is no definitive answer at the moment, and thus no science to guide a decision.