Commenting on the Prime Minister’s statement confirming that all
schools can open fully from 8 March, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint
General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Today’s announcement that all pupils will return to English
schools on 8 March demonstrates, again, that has, despite all his words of caution, failed to
learn the lessons of his previous mistakes.
“Whilst cases of Covid infection are falling, along with
hospitalisation rates, it remains the case, unfortunately, that
cases are three times higher now than when schools re-opened last
September. This fact, alone, should have induced caution rather
than, in the words of an ‘ambitious’ school return which runs the risk of
schools, once again, becoming, in the Prime Minister’s words on 4
January, ‘vector of transmission’ into the community. This risk
is greatly elevated because of the new variants of Covid which
are significantly more transmissive.
“Why has the English government not taken the same route as
Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland whose cautious, phased
approach to school opening will enable their governments to
assess the impact a return to the classroom will have on the R
rate and to make necessary adjustments to their plans.
“A ‘big bang’ school reopening brings 10 million people back into
crowded buildings with no social distancing and inadequate
ventilation. The wearing of face masks by pupils and staff in in
secondary school lessons is a welcome measure but it is not, on
its own enough. The government has had two months to put extra
mitigations in place to stop the growth in infection in schools
that was seen from September to December. Where are the
ventilation units for classrooms? Where are the nightingale
classrooms? Where is the PHE testing which school leaders could
rely upon to give more accurate results? It is no good political
parties talking about these safeguards when they know very well
that they have not been put in place and will not be put in place
by 8 March. Words are cheap. Actions are needed.
“The government must publish the science and the modelling which
informs their unique school return plan. It should also make
plans to protect vulnerable and older education staff who should
be supported to work from home until their vaccinations take
effect.
“While schools and colleges will, as always, go the extra mile,
headteachers should have been given the flexibility offered in
the other nations to plan for a phased school return. It would
have been far better to take that time to plan and implement a
successful and sustainable wider opening – which today’s
announcement does not, unfortunately, guarantee.”
