Unions respond to closure of schools during lockdown

The Prime Minister Borish Johnson has announced a tougher lockdown, where all primary schools, secondary schools and colleges will move to remote learning, except for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.
 
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, which represents leaders in the majority of schools, said: “The decision to restrict access to schools to gain control of the spread of the virus has been inevitable for some time. The announcement will bring some much needed clarity to the situation but it is a decision that should have been taken much sooner.
 
“Besides parents and carers there is no one more committed to the education and welfare of children than school leaders and their teams. NAHT members want children back in school as soon as possible.
 
“No time should be wasted in preparing for an orderly and sustainable return. The case for prioritising the school workforce for vaccination, alongside other key workers, is strong, in order to help facilitate a speedy return to face to face education.
 
“I call upon the government to urgently engage with the profession to determine what new arrangements should be put in place in schools, in light of the changing nature of the virus, to keep staff, pupils and their families safe. These measures must be funded in full.
 
“It has become clear to all that a centralised, prescriptive approach is too constrained. The government must urgently review its approach to special schools, Alternative Provision and Maintained Nursery Schools to protect all staff and pupils in those communities. 
 
“The government must also urgently clarify its plans for Early Years providers. The announcement will raise as many questions as answers for the dedicated professionals working with our youngest learners. It must bring certainty for them without delay.
 
“NAHT members stand ready to work with government for the good of all children. The most pressing priority is to minimise the impact of lockdown on low income and vulnerable families.
 
“The government must properly support the home learning effort to make it as good as it can be. That includes delivering on the promises of technology and learning resources but also allowing flexibility for school leaders to respond to their circumstances.
 
“In recognising that there will have to be major alterations to plans for GCSEs and A Levels this year, the government has thankfully, and not a moment too soon, acknowledged what the profession has been saying for some time. We must have a robust set of arrangements that command public confidence. A repeat of the chaos of 2020 must not be allowed.”

Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said: “We have seen a bad situation getting worse by the day. The position now is as bad, if not worse, than it was in March/April.
 
“A national lockdown is the only credible response to the high transmissibility of the new variant. It’s right that the Prime Minister has accepted our call to move immediately to remote learning for pupils nationwide.
 
“We have seen too much disruption to children’s education. But, without tougher measures that disruption was only set to continue. Limiting the spread of the virus is the only way to ensure schools can remain open safely after February half-term.
 
“Teachers have done everything that has been asked of them. But, teachers and pupils deserve the same levels of protection in the face of this highly deadly and highly contagious virus.
 
“Getting schools open again in February without further disruption means learning lessons. The Government must engage in working with the sector to develop credible solutions that will provide a sustainable basis for safe teaching and learning.
 
“It is extremely disappointing that the Government has not yet signalled rolling out the vaccine to prioritise schools and education staff. Keeping teachers free from Covid is the best way to ensure that children’s education does not continue to be disrupted going forwards.
 
“The Government must use the period of this lockdown to develop a robust plan for education recovery that is supported by a robust system of testing led by public health teams, stronger mitigations to prevent the spread of the virus and priority access to vaccines for the education workforce.
 
“Given the scale of the difficulties faced, the Government is right to look at alternative plans for exams this summer. It is essential that the Government works with the profession on these plans and does not repeat the mistakes of last summer. The Government must also confirm that it is cancelling statutory tests for primary school pupils.”