Schools in most countries across Europe were closed in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is now recognised that the negative impact on children from not attending school far outweighed any benefits in terms of reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at population level. Not only does missed schooling impact on the long-term educational prospects, it also exposes children to significant harm in terms of safeguarding and abuse, emotional and psychological health and child poverty. For these reasons, despite most countries across Europe deciding to close schools at the start of the pandemic, there was a huge appetite for reopening them in September. However, to avoid school-based SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in educational settings, which would generate considerable political and societal pressure to close schools, governments have put measures in place to minimise the risk of transmission in educational settings. These recommendations provide guidance about the use of face coverings by children and teachers, indications for isolation of symptomatic children and members of their families, as well as isolation of close contacts of confirmed cases in educational settings.
However, it is often unclear whether these recommendations are based on scientific evidence. One would assume that if they were evidence based, there would be relatively little variation in practice between European countries, although factors such as population density and rates of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence could justify some variation. In addition, an evidence-based approach would likely recommend different approaches in primary school settings compared with children in secondary school settings, due to the difference in risk of infection and transmission in these age groups. Unfortunately, a concerning picture emerges when the current recommendations for primary schools across Europe are compared.
