Schools’ clean air kit held up by supply problems
CLEAN air technology promised for schools in Wales has been delayed and may not arrive until well after half term for some.
In a letter seen by Walesonline, Education Minister Jeremy Miles blamed the delay in delivering CO2 monitors on supply chain hold-ups. Earlier he had said the CO2 monitors would start to be delivered to schools in the first week of October.
But the monitors are now scheduled for delivery to local authorities on October 13 and 14, while officials are working with suppliers for the full rollout of monitors by mid-november, the Minister revealed in a letter to teaching unions.
CO2 monitors have been described as “canaries in the coalmine” because they warn when there is not enough fresh air in a room.
The news came as school leaders, teachers and school staff from across Wales called on the Welsh Government to strengthen Covid safety in schools following a cross-union meeting. Hundreds of school workers met at the Wales TUC’S Keeping Schools Safe and Open event on October 7.
The TUC said all the education trade unions said they were in agreement with the Welsh Government that continued learning in school should be a priority. But they are pushing for greater mitigation measures to help protect staff and pupils and to allow schools to stay open.
There have been more than 10,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in schools this term since they returned with fewer infection control measures under revised Welsh Government reopening guidance.
Headteachers have warned that more pupils and staff are off than at any time in the pandemic and that education is more disrupted than last year.
Writing to reply to a series of questions from unions about safety and learning in schools, the Minister said: “Clear guidance for the use of CO2 monitors in education settings has been developed through a sectoral working group.
“The guidance will be issued to the sector alongside the first delivery of CO2 monitors. These are scheduled for delivery on October 13 and 14, a week later than originally anticipated due to logistical issues in the supply chain.
“Officials are working closely with the supplier for the full rollout of monitors by mid-november.”
The Welsh Government has said it is spending £2.58m buying CO2 monitors for all education settings in Wales; one for every classroom.
The monitors are aimed at helping schools, colleges and universities identify any areas of poor ventilation.
Under the Welsh Government’s education Covid framework, local authorities are required to work with schools making risk assessments. That includes identifying and addressing any defective ventilation including windows and mechanical ventilation systems not working properly. CO2 monitors would help with that.
Laura Doel, director of the National Association of Headteachers Cymru, described the delay as frustrating and said the monitors would be “a £3m waste of time” unless they were backed up with money to rectify broken and malfunctioning ventilation in schools.
Measures teaching unions want to see are:
A review of the current framework risk levels and mitigation for schools to see whether more stringent measures are needed to keep children in school, such as re-introducing contact bubbles, staggered session times, isolating contacts, and masks;
Clear guidance on expectations for schools to support learners at home during self-isolation or class/school closures;
Clear guidance for schools on the use of CO2 monitors and a clear strategy on how to deal with issues of poor ventilation when they arise;
Proposals to deal with Covid-19-related staff absences;
The funding of all measures needed to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, including any work to ensure windows can be opened, HEPA filters, and the use of individual risk assessments;
Increase capacity in the TTP system so schools have sufficient levels of support for contact tracing;
Review all TTP guidance and bring consistency to the system across all local health boards.
Wales TUC general secretary Shavanah Taj said: “The whole school workforce is in agreement that mitigations need to be stronger throughout Wales to keep schools open.
“Teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and support staff are scared, overworked and exhausted. The Welsh Government needs to listen to them and recognise that they’re the experts on what’s happening in schools.”