Commenting on Gavin Williamson’s statement to the Commons about
changes to Covid restrictions in education settings, Kevin
Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education
Union, said:
“Gavin Williamson has announced an end to bubbles and
self-isolation, to follow the removal of masks in mid-May,
without even a replacement by daily contact testing.
“Instead, NHS test track and trace will contact children who have
a positive result to ask them who their close contacts are and
will then ask those contacts to have a PCR test. However, those
close contacts will not have to isolate whilst waiting for that
PCR test.
“Head teachers will welcome not being responsible for testing of
pupils but will share the concerns of the NEU about how effective
a public test track and trace system will be and how much it will
control cases in schools. Schools have so far been the most
effective part of the test track and trace system.
“It seems clear that the Government policies are based on a new
form of herd immunity strategy - they are hoping that the
increase in vaccination rates and the increase in infection rates
across the summer will eventually get cases to fall simply
because there is no one left to infect.
“They hope that hospitalisations and deaths will not increase,
that further variants which escape the vaccination do not arise,
and that debilitating illness from Covid and Long Covid does not
become common in children.
“The Government should be seeking to improve ventilation in
schools by providing CO2 monitors and HEPA air filters, planning
mass asymptomatic testing in schools organised by PHE, and
encouraging JCVI to come forward with its thinking on the
vaccination of secondary-aged children.
“We can all hope for the best, but we must now plan for something
that is less than the best.”
