Responding to the Secretary of State's inability to confirm a
date that schools will reopen after half term during this
morning’s round of media interviews, Paul Whiteman, general
secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Families and
school leaders alike, who want to see disruption to pupils’
learning kept to an absolute minimum, will be very frustrated
that restricted access to school looks set to continue beyond
half term.
“That said, a firm announcement will bring clarity so that
schools and families can respond to the decisions of government.
The Secretary of State has done the right thing in not pursuing a
hard date for a return to school and then waiting for the science
to catch up.
“Government tells us that the rationale for restricting access to
school has always been about suppressing community transmission,
and all the while those rates remain dangerously high, the
government has decided that restricted access to schools is an
important part of the response.
“The government is not without options in other areas though, and
it should remember this. All the while most pupils are locked
down, the government must make sure it is doing everything in its
power to meet the immediate needs of young people, anticipate
what else might be necessary and set out the details of a longer
term recovery.
“Nearly a year on from the start of the pandemic, we still don’t
have this in place. The solution is to bring school leaders into
the decision-making process, rather than paying lip service to
engagement and issuing threats of legal action and inspection.
Trusting the expertise, hard work and dedication of the
profession is the route out of the pandemic, as far as education
is concerned.”
