Now teachers have no excuse to refuse to go back to work

THE next two weeks are crucial in the battle to get our schools open again. Parents, pupils and teachers need to be sure that it will be safe to go back into the classroom, the playground and the staffroom.

And the evidence that we publish today, endorsed by the Chief Medical Officers of all four nations of the United Kingdom, is the most powerful and persuasive anyone could wish for.

These are all distinguished, experienced and learned people careful with language.

When they say – in a document they have personally signed – that there is an exceptionally small risk of children dying from Covid-19, that the proportion of those infected who die is estimated at a tiny 14 per million, and that Covid deaths in children and teenagers are extremely rare, they can be trusted.

They do not say that there is no risk. Nobody could give such a guarantee. But they do say that the risk is small. So, set against the huge disadvantages of keeping the schools closed, it is a reasonable one.

They also point out (though with more caution) that, so far, experience shows that reopening of schools has usually not been followed by a surge of Covid-19, at least not in a timescale that suggests schools are the principal reason for the surge.

Teachers, who are more at risk from the virus than their pupils, are, even so, ‘not at increased risk of dying from Covid-19 compared to the general working-age population’. But there is another vital part of their case. That is that the closure of schools will do grave damage to our society and its health if it is allowed to continue.

It is especially harmful to the children of the poor. It is worth quoting in full: ‘We are confident that multiple sources of evidence show that a lack of schooling increases inequalities, reduces the life chances of children and can exacerbate physical and mental health issues.

‘School improves health, learning, socialisation and opportunities throughout the life course, including employment.’

The experts make it clear that, like so many other major decisions taken by governments and citizens, the choice is one of balance and proportion. ‘There are no riskfree options,’ they rightly point out. Much of modern life would be impossible without the taking of calculated risks.

But it is important that parents and teachers understand the balance of risks to achieve the best course of action for their children.

A fortnight ago, the Prime

Minister used the pages of The Mail on Sunday to proclaim his determination to get the schools open again, an aim which deserves the support of us all.

A week ago, the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, gave his backing in this newspaper to the restarting of education – though he did so without addressing the key issue of the unions, whose opposition to full reopening has been a disgrace and a stumbling block.

Now, the actual battle is about to begin. The Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, has a last chance to prove that he is worthy of his high office.

Parents have the opportunity to make their feelings felt, and we are sure that the great majority will be more than ready to stand up for a full restart of primary and secondary education.

The unions above all must now understand that petty sectional quibbles must give way to the national interest, to the good of the nation’s children and so to the wellbeing of us all.