The leaders of Britain’s largest education union have today
written to the Prime Minister urging Government to take emergency
measures if schools and colleges are to keep safe and open.
As the testing regime buckles under the strain of demand, staff
and pupils cannot get tested, or get results, and schools cannot
deal with outbreaks or sustain full opening if people are
unnecessarily isolating.
With lockdowns likely but further school closure ruled out by the
Government, today’s letter calls for the testing regime to be
significantly and urgently increased for schools. It also warns
he must not take the continued support of schools for
granted. The letter asks for a Plan B for education “that is
sustainable in the mid to long term, not just for tomorrow.”
“Time is running out and the Government must act now,” say Dr
Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretaries of the
National Education Union. The union is calling on to take robust and urgent action to protect pupils,
staff and their families.
The NEU’s letter also proposes “Nightingale Schools” to reduce
transmission networks.
The letter, which was sent today and is signed by Dr Mary
Bousted and Kevin Courtney, reads as follows:
20 September 2020
Cc Secretary of State for Education
Dear Prime Minister
We are writing to you at a critical moment for our country,
schools and young people.
It is now clear that your Government has not managed to ensure
that testing is sufficiently available to meet the predictable
need when 12 million children and their staff returned to school
in England.
wrote to
heads on 7 September, saying: “I want to reassure you again that
all your staff and pupils have access to testing if one of them
should develop Covid-19 symptoms.”
But we know this promise was being broken, even as it was
being sent.
This failure on testing is causing three related problems:
- Schools do not have the information to act quickly to stop
viral spread when children who would be positive can’t get a
test.
- Many children are out of school who would be negative if
tested, but cannot get a test.
- Many school staff are also at home waiting for a test which
may well be negative.
This is putting a strain on schools, which will only get worse
the further we get into the autumn term.
The situation needs addressing as a matter of urgency.
Children and staff should be a high priority for the testing
regime. Indeed, you should move towards asymptomatic testing of
staff and older pupils as you have done in the NHS and care
homes.
It is also clear that cases are growing rapidly, with many
sources suggesting an 8-day doubling time, which will return us
to March levels within a few weeks if urgent action is not taken.
The situation is markedly worse in some localities and we and our
members are disturbed that 44 districts are now on your
intervention list.
We hope that you will be able to get this situation under control
quickly but, if you cannot, then we believe that you will have to
take steps to reduce wider school opening in these areas to help
get R below 1.
You have outlined your plans for such reductions, but we believe
you should be undertaking urgent preparations now for Plan B:
- Reduction of class sizes, the highest in Europe, to reduce
the size of transmission networks and avoid rota operation
wherever possible. We need Nightingale Schools as well as
Nightingale Hospitals and courts.
- Delivery of broadband and laptops to children who still don’t
have them.
- Urgent clarity and realism on exams and tests for next year.
There needs to be fairness for children across the country who
will miss varying amounts of schooling as a result of isolation
and local lockdowns.
School leaders, teachers and support staff have supported
the wider opening for all pupils and worked hard to make it as
safe as possible, but you cannot, and must not, take this support
for granted.
You must show that the virus levels will be able to fall again
and that you have a plan for education that is sustainable in the
mid to long term, not just for tomorrow.
The issues raised in this letter are so serious and pressing that
we are making its contents public.
Yours sincerely
Mary Bousted Kevin Courtney
Joint General Secretary Joint General Secretary
