Commenting on the scientific papers released by SAGE, Dr Mary
Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union,
said:
“Throughout this crisis the National Education Union has been
consistent. We have been resolute in protecting the safety of our
members, the children they teach, their families and the wider
community. We have also demanded our seat at the table in talks
with the Department for Education, and regularly requested access
to the science driving the Government's decisions on the wider
opening of schools.
“Today, two months since lockdown was introduced, the Government
has finally granted access to some of the scientific modelling
behind its proposal for schools to open more widely from June 1.
“We are surprised that the wider opening of schools proposed by
has not been modelled by
SAGE. This points to a cavalier attitude towards the nation's
children.
“The fact of the matter is that SAGE has only weak evidence as to
what extent children can transmit the virus to others. The Office
of National Statistics has recently indicated that age does not
affect the likelihood of being infected. And last week, the
Government's scientific panel told us that there are cases where
children do act as the index case.
“If we cannot be certain about the transmission of the virus -
and it appears SAGE cannot, either - then it is only right to
exercise caution.
“Today's report from the Independent SAGE group, chaired by
, casts further doubts.
They have no confidence in a robust track and trace system being
in place by June 1, nor low enough levels of Coronavirus in the
community. King told us today that the chances of either of those
being in place by the Government's hasty, arbitrary date, is
'virtually nil'. The report argues that a postponement of two
weeks would halve the risk of children getting the disease.
“It remains the case that the National Education Union does not
yet think it safe for the wider opening of schools. In addition
to track and trace and the case numbers, we need to see regular
testing and PPE for those who need it.
“There is a huge disconnect between announcement and delivery. It
is not sufficient for the Prime Minister to tell the Commons we
will have a 'world-beating' track and trace system within 12
days, and expect the whole country - and school leaders - to take
a leap of faith with him.
“The Government has made many missteps since this crisis began,
and the DfE was slow to bring all education unions on board. We
are glad that the science, or some of it, is now available to us.
We invite scientists across the country to help us assess the
evidence published and clarify any uncertainty and the level of
risk in front of us.”
