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Poll of over 1,000 parents, commissioned for NEU, shows
support for lockdown measures since March
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33% do not immediately plan to send their children back
to school once measures are relaxed
-
Strong support for safety measures which have not yet
been met by Government, including widespread testing and
tracing, before schools re-open
Last week the National Education Union commissioned a
Deltapoll of 1,024 parents of school-age children in England.
(1)
Lockdown measures
In March the Government announced a range of measures in
order to help the United Kingdom through the Covid-19 outbreak.
The survey asked parents how supportive they were of measures
implemented on or around 23 March, and to a large degree they
were supportive of the cornerstones ‘staying at home’ (87%) and
‘social distancing’ (91%). In relation to education, they also
supported the general closure of schools (86%), keeping schools
open to disadvantaged children (81%), the suspending of Ofsted
inspections (80%) and the cancelling of GCSE and A-Level exams
(65%).
Overall, 92% of parents agree that the closure of schools
has been an important factor in containing coronavirus. 90% of
those polled have kept their child at home in light of lockdown
requirements, the remainder being key workers or parents of a
child with vulnerability needs.
Putting safety first
On 1 May the National Education Union announced its 5
Tests, which must be met by Government before the re-opening of
schools can take place. (2) We have also signed a joint letter
from the six TUC unions representing school workers, which was
sent to the Education Secretary on 8 May, setting out the
yardsticks by which we can ‘ensure the safety of children,
parents, staff and the communities they serve.’ (3)
The principles are clear, and many of them were reflected
in the questions put to parents. When asked which of a range of
‘tests’ needed to apply before schools can re-open, they
said:
-
The Covid-19 new case count must be much lower than it is
now, with a sustained downward trend (82%)
-
Extensive arrangements for testing and contact tracing
must be in place (77%)
-
Scientific or medical evidence shows that it is safe for
children to return to school (84%)
-
Covid-19 testing for all children and staff at your
child’s school is conducted (67%)
When asked if teachers should have to wear personal
protective equipment (PPE) when schools re-open, 59% agreed. This
view was significantly higher amongst respondents in London
(74%).
Parents also expressed a reluctance to send their children
back to school as soon as it re-opens. Just under half (49%) said
they would, with a third of the total sample (33%) intending to
delay the return.
These views were consistent across primary and secondary
sectors.
Commenting on the findings of the poll, Dr Mary
Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education
Union, said:
“With an aspiration to open schools more widely in less
than three weeks from now, the Prime Minister is squandering a
great deal of parental goodwill.
“The NEU has supported the lockdown, but the past few days
have revealed the Government’s garbled approach to the next
phase. In his haste to use schools as a symbol of recovery, the
Prime Minister has merely succeeded in revealing the incoherence
at the heart of his strategy. His ‘sketch’ must be
redrawn.
“Now that the Prime Minister has set himself on a course
out of lockdown, he needs to act fast to reassure unions, school
staff and parents that when schools do open it will only be when
our shared and widespread concerns for personal safety are fully
met.”
ENDS
Editor's Note
(1) 1,074
parents of school-age children in England were polled from 5-7
May 2020, before new lockdown measures were announced. Data
here: http://www.deltapoll.co.uk/polls/school-closures
(2) Our
five tests, 1 May: https://neu.org.uk/press-releases/5-tests-government-before-schools-can-re-open
(3) TUC
joint statement, 8 May: https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/unions-set-out-needs-safe-reopening-schools-letter-education-secretary
