Following the appearance of Education Secretary before the Education Select
Committee, Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General
Secretary said:
“Central to any discussion about schools partially or fully
reopening has to be that any decision must be informed on public
health grounds.
“It would be reckless for any Government to ignore the
independent scientific advice or try to selectively use that
advice it to support a pre-determined policy decision and thereby
endanger lives.
“There is a need for clarity about the purpose of reopening
schools and while the Secretary of State has said when it is safe
to do so schools will open as part of a phased return, teachers
and schools will be looking for much more detail and sufficient
time to enable them to prepare.
“The Education Secretary has said schools would not be
opening through the summer and teachers will expect him to keep
to his word.
“Teachers are continuing to support vulnerable children and
the children of key workers whilst also providing access to
remote learning and support for the majority of children who are
at home.
“It is vital that teachers’ safety and their health
concerns are also addressed fully before any decision to reopen
schools.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The NASUWT has set out five key points to be addressed
before any relaxing of the current arrangements
for school closure.
1. Do
not rush to reopen schools. Government needs to recognise and
accept that with a potentially depleted workforce, due to the
impact of COVID-19, it will simply not be possible to reopen all
schools to all children and that there will need to be fewer
pupils in school on any given day.
2. Governments
need to ensure that teachers are provided the same protections as
other workers, especially safeguarding those teachers who have
underlying health conditions or who are in a vulnerable group.
That will inevitably mean fewer teachers being available to work
in schools and the Government must plan accordingly, recognising
that schools will face staff shortages.
3. Government
should ensure that teachers and other staff in schools are
protected from the Coronavirus as far as possible. Access to PPE,
including universal access to soap and hot water, as well as
provision of gloves, aprons and face masks where appropriate,
must be given priority, too. The Government’s suggestion that PPE
is not necessary in educational settings needs to be
withdrawn.
4. The
Government needs to accept, too, the importance of social
distancing in schools, although this will be difficult if not
impossible to achieve in practice where schools are reopened
fully. Again, it is important that there are fewer children
and fewer classes at any one time given the physical space
limitations across the majority of schools and colleges.
5. Finally,
the Government must insist on the effective conduct of COVID-19
risk assessments is every school and college prior to full or
partial reopening. These risk assessments need to take place in
consultation and agreement with the workforce and trade unions if
the process for reopening schools and colleges is to be managed
successfully. Regular cleaning, including deep cleaning of
schools, will also be essential to secure and maintain
confidence. And, schools must have the necessary resources and
staff to undertake cleaning which will be vital in helping to
reduce the spread of the disease.
