Charlotte Atkins

Leek councillor and opposition leader at Staffordshire County Council

ONE Conservative Secretary of State, Matt Hancock, has rightly resigned as Health Secretary. But why is Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education, still in post? He must be in the running for the title of worst ever Education Secretary.

Official data shows that 279,000 children were self-isolating in England because of possible contact with a Covid-19 case.

The Government says the policy is helping curb the spread of the virus, but it is not monitoring how many covid cases are being prevented by sending pupils home from school.

Despite all the disruption caused to education, no data is being collected on who tested positive during self-isolation. So no one can judge the benefit of the policy which has seen, for every positive case, 20 other pupils on average having to self-isolate for 10 days.

The Government’s response has been to blame schools for being over-zealous.

No wonder Gavin Williamson is held in contempt by teachers who have been confronted with implementing his last-minute decisions and numerous U-turns, which have created chaos.

He has so starved schools of educational catch-up funds for much-needed pupil learning support that it led to the abrupt resignation of his own education recovery chief Sir Kevan Collins.

Gavin Williamson has claimed that learning from home during the pandemic has ‘inevitably’ affected the behaviour of many children in a negative way. But a leading children’s charity suggested there is no evidence of that – and urged the Government to prioritise pupils’ wellbeing rather than their behaviour.

Parents have pulled out the stops to support their children in very difficult circumstances. They should not be targeted in Williamson’s blame game.

It is Gavin Williamson’s behaviour which is a greater cause for concern.

He wants to take mobile phones off pupils in schools. But he needs to catch up and recognise that schools rarely allow mobile phones to be used during the school day anyway.

He has suggested that the use of phones in schools is ‘a breeding ground for cyberbullying.’

Of course, their use can cause problems, but mobile phones have become an incredible resource for written communication, research, taking photos, making films and talking to people all over the world.

Teenagers will not now be separated from their mobile phones. So let’s embrace the opportunities that the technology creates rather than ban them.

Throughout the pandemic, Gavin Williamson’s blunders have consistently failed schools.

He insisted that three million children would return to primary schools after the Christmas holiday just hours before the PM announced a national lockdown.

He was also shamed into extending school meal vouchers amid fury over the disgraceful food boxes provided by private contractors. If Gavin Williamson is not ready to resign, then it is time for the Prime Minister to sack him.