School leaders respond to government's Covid winter plan

Commenting as the government sets out its plan for tackling Covid during the autumn and winter, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said:

“Today’s winter plan represents another missed opportunity when it comes to schools. The government should be acting with a far greater sense of urgency when it comes to making classrooms as safe as possible.

"The current plans to get CO2 monitors into classrooms by the end of term are simply too slow and need to be accelerated. Equally, plans should be in place now to support schools where poor ventilation is identified.

"If the government is serious about minimising disruption to education, it should be moving heaven and earth to make classrooms as safe as possible and to minimise the risk of transmission. Sadly, there is a sense of inevitability that the current ‘wait and see’ approach will lead to further and unnecessary disruption in the coming months.”