Commenting on attendance figures for education settings on 9
December, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said:
“The Prime Minister's end of term report makes for sorry reading.
has not kept his eye on the
ball, and his lack of action in ensuring schools have measures in
place to keep on top of ever-increasing Covid infection rates is
shocking. Today's data show that 236,000 pupils were absent from
school on 9 December for Covid-19 related reasons, around one in
35 pupils.
“The NEU has been calling for a fit for purpose Plan B for
schools, one that increases safety mitigations for schools and
colleges and would ensure continuity of education and a control
on case counts. It emphasises face coverings, isolation,
ventilation, staggered break times, one-way routes around the
school site, and guidance on gatherings and access to vaccines
for staff. (1)
“How we approach the new year is in the gift of the Prime
Minister. He has got us to this place and must not simply rely on
the school holiday to halt the rise of Covid in schools.
must bring forward a plan to
keep schools and colleges safe and to keep education going. He
can start by looking at the NEU's.”
Editor’s Note
- Last week, the NEU set out its Plan B to stop the disruption
of education:
- Face coverings to be worn, in line with Government
requirements, by pupils and staff in secondary communal areas and
by primary staff in communal areas. This should be extended to
secondary classrooms for staff and students. No member of staff
in any setting should be prevented from wearing a face covering
in any part of the premises.
- Children who have a sibling or other household member with
Covid-19 should not attend school/college until they have had a
negative PCR test - as in Scotland - in addition to the
Government guidance of 10-day isolation on close contacts of
confirmed or suspected Omicron cases.
- The Government should change its ventilation guidance to
state that classrooms must keep CO2 below 800 ppm, as advocated
by the HSE and should invest urgently in air filtration devices.
Sage first highlighted the importance of ventilation in schools
in May 2020; Government has failed to act on their advice.
- Measures such as one-way routes and staggered break times
should be urgently reintroduced to minimise mixing between
classes and year groups wherever possible.
- Government to issue guidance to all schools and colleges on
safe organisation of gatherings and meetings, including options
for social distancing or virtual events, based on factors
including local case rates, outbreaks in the school/college
itself, quality of ventilation and space available.
- In addition, Government should encourage schools and colleges
to allow staff to book vaccines and boosters during working hours
without loss of pay and launch a campaign to encourage twice
weekly testing for all staff and pupils. Government should also
mandate provision of higher-grade medical masks (FFP2, FFP3)
provided where requested by at-risk staff and pupils previously
defined as clinically vulnerable, or clinically extremely
vulnerable, or involved in close contact and personal care.
