Marking books will not be safe, teachers told
Unions issue checklists for their members to seek assurance on before they agree to return to work
SCHOOLS have been told to sanitise library books and have a system in place to monitor children’s face-touching before they reopen, guidelines show.
Arts-and-crafts materials should also be washed before and after use by children, according to guidance published by the UK’S largest teachers’ union.
The National Education Union (NEU) has issued a “checklist” of more than 100 issues that their members should seek assurance from their school on before they agree to return to work.
Teachers have been told not to mark homework or take any books home to avoid the spread of coronavirus.
“It will not be safe to mark children’s books during this period. Will clear instruction be given that no marking should take place and the books should not be taken to and from home/ school?” the checklist says.
“Will staff be told to wash their hands before and after handling pupils’ books? Will library books be regularly sanitised?”
A separate checklist published by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) said that schools must review and update their behaviour policies to ensure that they cover “Covid-19-related
incidents”. The union explains that schools must be able to sanction pupils who “wilfully refuse” to adhere to social distancing measures, as well as those who “deliberately cough or spit” at fellow pupils or staff.
The Department for Education (DFE) has said every school must carry out a risk assessment before reopening.
The Prime Minister has asked schools to prepare to welcome pupils back to nursery, Reception, Year One and Year Six from June 1, with the “ambition” that the rest of primary children return to school by the end of June.
Local councils have also drawn up risk assessment forms for schools under their remit to complete before reopening next month.
Children should only be accompanied to school or picked up at the end of the day by one parent rather than two, according to Cumbria County
Council’s guide.
Meanwhile, teachers in Derbyshire have been told not to make drinks for each other and to greet each pupil on arrival and ensure they wash their hands before entering their classroom.
Derbyshire council’s guidance also advises schools to leave the classroom one row at a time to “manage pinch points”.
Elsewhere, schools have been told to remove anything that is difficult to clean regularly, such as toys and soft furnishings.
Prof Colin Diamond, a former DFE adviser, has said that this “feels cruel”, adding: “This to me illustrates the absurdity of trying to introduce a safe regime which has to be socially distant. Of course children need cuddly toys and to relax on cushions.
“This is not a very impressive idea. I can’t help but think that whoever wrote the guidance doesn’t know much about a nursery or classroom.”
Cllr Judith Blake, chairman of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board, said: “Councils are keen to support their local schools to get children back as soon as possible. However, the safety of children, their families and staff will always be the top priority.
“As there are different Covid-19 infection rates around the country, schools and councils must be able to work together to decide how and when schools open to more children. Some areas may want to work faster than others.”
Official advice from the DFE says that schools’ risk assessments should “directly address risks associated with coronavirus, so that sensible measures can be put in place to control those risks for children and staff ”. It adds that all employers “have a duty to consult employees on health and safety, and they are best placed to understand the risks in individual settings”.
Class sizes should be split in half with a 15-pupil limit, and a “one-way system” operated in corridors, the Dfe’s guidelines say. The beginning and end of the day will be staggered to avoid congestion at the gates, and surfaces should be regularly cleaned.