Head teachers ‘refusing to fully reopen schools’
HUNDREDS of head teachers will defy government orders and block their pupils’ return to the classroom this week, a union has said.
A survey by the National Association of Head Teachers shows more than 700 schools, or 3 per cent of the total number, will phase students back or use “transition periods” to reopen.
The Prime Minister has said all schools should be fully reopened from the start of September, following heavy disruption to the summer term amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Many local authority areas are due to return to school tomorrow.
But some head teachers still have concerns about fully reopening, despite guidance on student “bubbles” and measures to promote frequent handwashing in most schools.
The NAHT said the schools postponing their reopening represented a “tiny percentage” and any delays were intended to “alleviate pupils’ anxieties about the return”. The survey came as research by TES magazine suggested that nine in 10 teachers have concerns about social distancing.
Its poll of nearly 6,000 school staff in England found that 86 per cent thought minimising contact between pupils was not possible, while two thirds feared guidance to avoid busy corridors, entrances and exits was unrealistic. The survey also found that more than a quarter of staff may not comply with the test-and-trace programme should their school have an outbreak.
More than a third felt that the Government’s approach to coronavirus safety in schools would not work and left them “at risk”, the poll showed.
Teaching unions have already warned the Government that safety measures will not be enough to protect pupils and staff, and want ministers to introduce rules on face coverings in schools in areas under local lockdown. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, urged parents to send their children back to school despite the concerns. “Please do not let the very public political difficulties and arguments cloud your confidence in schools,” he said.
“With co-operation and understanding between home and school we can achieve the very best return possible despite the political noise.”
A government spokesman said: “Getting all children back into their classrooms full-time in September is a national priority because it is the best place for their education, development and wellbeing.”
‘Universities, like the rest of the economy, need to come back and I think students need to be able to do so’
Tony Diver
UNIVERSITY teaching unions are putting students’ education and exams at risk by trying to block a full return to campus in September, a minister has warned.
Jo Grady, the University and College Union general secretary, said universities could become ground zero for a second wave of Covid-19 in the UK unless they avoid face-to-face teaching, sparking a row with the Government over students going back to university next month.
Ms Grady told The Observer the mass movement “could lead to universities being the care homes of any second wave of Covid”. She also accused the Government of a lack of planning, with more students expected on campuses following the admissions fiasco, as data emerges that infection rates are increasing among younger people.
But Stephen Barclay, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, accused the union of damaging students’ education and denying them the “benefits that would come from the universities returning”.
“I think universities, like the rest of the economy, need to come back and I think students need to be able to do so,” he said.
“We’ve had a bit of this with the schools sector where there’s also a damage to school children... if they’re not able to get back to normal if they miss some of the interactions and some of the benefits that would come from the universities returning.
“But that doesn’t mean that we don’t always apply Covid-safe processes to how we do that.”
The UCU last night steered away from any suggestion that lecturers may go on strike over the return to face-toface teaching.
Ms Grady told The Daily Telegraph her comments were about “putting the health and safety of staff, students and local communities first, not threats of industrial action”.
Sir Anthony Seldon, the vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham, said he wanted to see his students return to campus as soon as possible.
“Universities have taken immense trouble to prepare for this,” he said.
“They have been hugely thoughtful in anticipating how to do it and nobody knows about a second wave. But I would think the chances are low – my instinct is that there’s a low risk.
“We need to get students back, we need to get the overseas students here.”
Sir Anthony suggested with a low rate of transmission and social distancing measures, students attending university would be “as safe as many would be in their home towns”.