Schools all across Greater Manchester and England are reopening their doors for the start of a new year today.
But this time, with some new COVID measures in place.
In a bid to help tackle the spread of the Omicron variant as children return to the classroom this week, all secondary school pupils in England will now have to wear a mask, both while in class and in all hallways and communal areas, and will also be expected to take a COVID test on-site once they arrive, as well as complete a test twice a week from home.
Some individual schools and local authorities in England had already required masks in classrooms, and face coverings were recommended in schools in England between 8 March and 17 May last year.
Face coverings in educational settings will be required until 26 January, according to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi.
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Not only that, but it’s also been confirmed that the first week of term will even see Ofsted inspections paused, with schools having been encouraged to ask for a deferral if they are “significantly impacted by COVID-related staff absence”.
The reopening of schools today comes after England and Scotland recorded a further 157,758 cases of the COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour period.
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Several public services also had to resort to emergency plans to mitigate staff shortages.
Many schools and colleges are reopening this morning after Christmas.
We explain what pupils, students, parents and staff need to know about the measures in place to protect face-to-face learning, maximise attendance and minimise disruption to learning.https://t.co/GggPzkxGhs
— Department for Education (@educationgovuk) January 4, 2022
A return to school this week also comes after Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said yesterday that said the government wants to make sure schools are given “as many tools to be able to make sure that education is open”, but did admit that it was “more challenging to deliver education with masks on in the classroom”.
“This is an aerosol-transmitted virus and if you’re wearing a mask, if you’re asymptomatic, then you’re less likely to infect other people,” Mr Zahawi told Sky News yesterday.
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The government also said it would be making 7,000 air cleaning units available to early years settings, schools, and colleges.
Mr Zahawi added that the “most important thing” is to keep schools open and said that education was the “number one priority” for him and Prime Minister Boris Johnson and that they would do “everything in our power” to minimise disruption.
Schools and colleges have done an incredible job to ensure face-to-face learning can continue.
Our measures against the Omicron variant will help keep Covid out of the classroom and pupils in school👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/xHahu5miE3
The government is also said to be closely monitoring staff absences in schools, especially as that, coupled with rising infection rates at the end of last term, have led to fears of further disruption to education, with the four main teaching unions covering England, Wales, and Northern Ireland – ASCL, NAHT, NEU and NASUWT – plus the GMB and Unison, have issued a joint statement calling for urgent steps to help schools.
The statement said schools needed to avoid exam disruption for a third successive year, and remove uncertainty and additional workloads for students and teachers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday admitted, while he was visiting a vaccine centre at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Aylesbury, that while he was not happy about the plans for education settings, they were “necessary” for now.
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He also said it was “very encouraging” to see children getting vaccinated before going back to school.
Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
The Manc -
4th January 2022 
