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Government's own contingency plans, published in
August, would require schools to reduce pupil attendance
[1]
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Independent SAGE says schools remaining open will
significantly reduce the effectiveness of lockdown measures
[2]
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“The figures are clear, a lockdown with schools
open would need to be three times longer than if they were
closed to have the same impact. " says , Green
Party Co-Leader.
The Green Party is calling for secondary schools, colleges
and universities to be added to the list of closures from
Thursday after a month-long lockdown in England was announced by
the Government.
Co-leader is
demanding this afternoon that common sense prevail, following the
release of figures by Independent SAGE showing that a lockdown
with schools remaining open will be significantly less effective
than if they were closed.
“The government is fond of saying they are following the
science, but this is an example of them doing the exact
opposite,” says Bartley.
“The figures are clear, a lockdown with schools open would
need to be three times longer than if they were closed to have
the same impact. This lockdown is going to negatively affect huge
numbers of people, so it has to be worth it.
“Of course there are going to be exceptions - young people
with special educational needs for instance should still be able
to attend schools in person. But in general, this is the time to
shut secondaries and universities, move to remote learning, give
the support needed to curb the rates of infection where that can
be done, fix the test and trace system which is still woefully
underperforming. Use the time to make this lockdown
worthwhile.”
Green Party Education spokesperson Vix Lowthion said: “The
government produced their own guidelines back in August which
clearly stated that secondary schools must be on a remote
learning rota or closed when the threat of the virus increases.
Surely, that’s where we are now?
“University teaching can move online during this heightened
period and school teachers can focus on online learning plans
whilst appropriate home-school rotas are put in place. Yes, it’s
a huge challenge for our schools but so is working in a frankly
unsafe environment where you’re not being given the back-up you
need to keep yourself and your pupils out of harm’s way.
“Along with this there needs to be thought put into
safeguarding for children at home, their physical and mental
health and making sure they have everything they need to learn –
the tech equipment and the support.
“The vast majority of children in secondary schools and
young adults in higher education are able to learn from home with
supervision from teachers. In the medium term this 'blended
learning' will disrupt the economy less than a full shutdown
including primary schools as in most cases older children have
less need for intensive childcare provision.”
ENDS
[1] August contingency planning guidance for
schools: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-possible-measures-to-be-taken-before-schools-and-colleges-close
[2] Independent Sage weekly briefing 30.10:
https://www.independentsage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WeeklySlides30Oct.pdf
