Commenting on the launch of the government’s back to school
campaign, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of
School and College Leaders, said:
“Schools and colleges are hoping for the best over the course of
the next term and beyond but there is clearly still a lot of
uncertainty about the possible impact of Covid transmission among
pupils who are largely unvaccinated.
“Government guidance is very different from the last academic
year and the control measures are less stringent. Our concerns
are over the potential risk of a high number of infections among
pupils which cause more educational disruption and may lead to
some young people suffering serious symptoms.
“It will be a case of seeing how all this plays out in reality as
the new term starts and progresses. But it will be very important
that the government is ready to act in the event of a rising tide
of coronavirus infections and provide further support to schools
and colleges as necessary.
“We note the reference to the reissuing of a remote education
direction giving legal force to the requirement for schools to
offer high-quality remote education where students need to
self-isolate, and would point out to the government that schools
have already been doing this extremely successfully over the
course of the pandemic and often in very difficult
circumstances.”
