Labour demands Government ‘act now’ to protect children’s education

Labour is demanding the Government ‘act now’ to protect children’s education and prevent the chaos seen last January when children returned to school for one day before being sent home again.

Labour is calling on Ministers to deliver a Christmas vaccines guarantee so all 12 – 15-year-olds can get vaccinated during the holidays and use the break to get ventilation systems and testing support into schools to ensure children’s smooth return to classrooms for the new term.

Speaking in an urgent question in Parliament, Shadow Schools Minister Stephen Morgan MP will urge Ministers to learn from the last 20 months and prioritise children’s education by getting ventilation and vaccinations in place, saying: “Ministers must stop treating children as an afterthought, and act now to avoid chaos next term.” 

Morgan will challenge the Education Secretary to adopt Labour's calls for:

• a clear, targeted communications campaign to parents on the benefits of vaccination
• access to pop-up and walk-in clinics
• the mobilisation of volunteers and retired clinicians

Latest data published this week shows 235,000 children were out of school due to Covid on 9 December with Covid infections rising particularly among primary age pupils.

Stephen Morgan MP, Labour’s Shadow Schools Minister, said:

“Children have been in and out of school facing ongoing disruption to education and wellbeing again this term. This cannot continue.

“The Government has continuously failed to plan ahead, but must act now and use the Christmas holidays to prevent the chaos seen last January.

“Labour is calling on Ministers to deliver a Christmas vaccine guarantee to ensure all 12 – 15-year-olds can get a jab during the holidays to keep kids learning next term. This must be delivered alongside practical ventilation measures in all schools, so teachers are not forced to open windows this winter."

Ends


Notes to editors

• 235,000 children were out of school on 9 December - Attendance data, GOV.UK

• Full text of Stephen Morgan’s statement in Parliament:
  
  ***CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY​​​***
  
  Thank you, Mr Speaker.

  May I first take this opportunity to thank school staff, governors, parents and pupils across the country for their dedication and hard work during a year of unrivalled difficulties.

  But the Government’s complacency means we are now in a race against time to protect children’s health and education as the Omicron variant spreads.

  Yesterday’s absence figures show 235,000 children are now out of school due to Covid, up 13 per cent in the last fortnight.

  An average of 175,500 children have been out of school every day this term.

  This ongoing disruption to education comes on top of the average of 115 days of in-person school that pupils missed between March 2020 and July 2021.

  Mr Speaker, the Government has serious questions to answer about why further steps have not been taken to reduce the spread of covid amongst pupils.

  We know vaccination and ventilation are vital to these efforts.

  But Ministers are falling short on both.

  Sage first highlighted the importance of ventilation in schools in May 2020, but 19 months on the Government has failed to act on their advice.

  Mr Speaker, this is literally a problem the Government could have fixed while the sun was shining.

  Instead, their failure to get ventilation measures in place is pushing schools to open windows despite plummeting temperatures, while school energy bills skyrocket.

  Therefore, will the Minister immediately publish interim findings of the Bradford pilot of air purifiers and work with all schools to implement recommendations from this?

  On vaccinations, nationally we find less than half of 12 – 15-year-olds have had a vaccine.

  Ministers missed their own target to offer everyone in that age group a jab by October, and have not set a new one.

  Perhaps most concerningly, the weekly number of jabs administered to 12 – 15-year-olds has dropped 80 per cent since half term.

  Will the Minister commit to deliver a vaccine guarantee so all young people can get their jab by the end of the Christmas holidays?

  Will he also set out what steps he will take to rapidly ramp up the rollout?
  
  Will he adopt Labour’s calls for:

  A clear, targeted communications campaign to parents on the benefits of vaccination?
  
  

  Access to pop-up and walk-in clinics?
  
  

  The mobilisation of volunteers and retired clinicians?

  
  Mr Speaker, staff, children and parents are now into their third school year of disruption.

  Time and again, this government’s failure to plan ahead has left children bearing the brunt of the pandemic.

  Ministers must stop treating them as an afterthought, and act now to avoid chaos next term.