Commenting on the Prime Minister’s confirmation that
wider opening of schools will start from June 1, Dr Mary Bousted,
Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union,
said:
“Government should be bound to protect all of us during this
frightening and difficult time. Yet the announcement today about
England pressing ahead with wider school opening flies in the
face of this duty. We are not saying only go back when it is 100%
safe. Nothing ever is. But we are saying meet your own tests,
produce sound scientific evidence, and return when the time is
right to ensure the virus can be contained as much as possible.
“Heads, teachers, support staff and school staff have all been
working through this challenging time. Schools have been open and
contact has been maintained with families and the children they
teach. They have done so to support vulnerable children and
children of key workers while their parents and carers keep the
country going. This has been done bravely and willingly.
“School staff have many questions which should be answered. Why,
when the rest of the country is still required to observe social
distancing, is it safe for schools not to? Fifteen pupils to a
class makes social distancing an impossibility in our small
classrooms and in particular with very young children who will
not understand the concept. Denmark, who the Government quite
rightly praise for their approach to wider school opening has a
limit of five children when outside and three when inside.
“Our latest survey shines a light on the problems facing a
significant number of members in schools right now, where pupil
numbers are at an average of 2%. Even with that in mind, 41% say
their school cannot maintain regular handwashing, a majority
(53%) are not being offered appropriate PPE and one third (31%)
believe the arrangements for cleaning their classroom are
inadequate.
“Today’s final report from Independent SAGE again casts grave
doubt over the Prime Minister’s decision to press ahead with a
June 1 wider opening of schools. Independent SAGE said ‘this
decision threatens not just the health of school communities but
also of wider society’. We fail to understand why the Government
would take such risks.
“Time and again we have had to ask for the scientific thinking
behind wider school opening. Time and again we have not had the
answers.
"The Government's Covid-19 strategy has drifted steadily from
dither to disaster. Revelations in recent days have severely
damaged public trust, and it is not only troubling but deeply
insulting and dangerous to see schools being used as a
distraction."
Commenting on today’s government confirmation of the
wider opening of schools from Monday, Geoff Barton, General
Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders,
said:
“The government’s confirmation that schools should begin to open
to more pupils from Monday has been widely expected.
“The argument about whether this is the right thing to do will
doubtlessly continue to rage, particularly given the fact that
the test and trace system, vital to containing further outbreaks
of the virus, has only just launched today.
“What is important now is that we all get behind our schools and
support them in this very challenging situation.
“It is important to understand that many primary schools will not
be open to all eligible pupils on Monday morning, and that they
will be phasing in these children over a period of time, while
putting in place limits on class sizes and implementing other
safety measures.
“Schools are already open to vulnerable and key worker children,
and it is now a case of carefully and cautiously expanding these
numbers.
“There are significant logistical issues involved, including
constraints on the physical space in schools, and the
availability of staff, given that some will be self-isolating or
in vulnerable categories.
“There is also likely to be a great deal of variability in how
many parents send their children into schools. Added to this is
the fact that local authorities are taking different approaches.
“All of this means the picture from Monday will vary widely
between schools and areas according to local circumstances. We
urge everybody to understand this is an extraordinary situation
and to respect the decisions that are made by schools.
“It is also vital that schools receive prompt, clear and
definitive public health advice as necessary in the event that
infection rates increase in their area, or there are outbreaks of
the virus in their school. They will need direction on precisely
what to do in these circumstances.”
