Teachers demand PPE before schools open
Union boss warns against using a return to classes as a testing ground for lifting lockdown restrictions
TEACHERS are demanding personal protective equipment (PPE) as a “precondition” for schools reopening, saying they should not be used as “guinea pigs” for the lockdown exit strategy.
Dr Patrick Loach, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters/union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), said people would be horrified if schools were used as a testing ground for the easing of restrictions.
“Schools should only be fully reopened when this is supported by scientific evidence,” he said. “We have to make sure that teachers and support staff have access to PPE and can observe social distancing. Our view is that those are important preconditions for schools to be reopened.
“PPE could be anything ranging from soap to gloves, aprons and in some cases face masks. The health of teachers and support staff must not be put at risk as a result of any political desire to reopen schools.”
Ministers have come under pressure to announce a timeline on schools reopening, which is seen by some as holding the key to ending lockdown, since it would enable parents to go back to work.
A study published last week found that shutting schools could only have “relatively small effect” on slowing the transmission of coronavirus.
At the same time, school closures can have “profound” economic and social consequences, the research paper added, particularly for children from deprived backgrounds.
Robert Halfon, the Tory chairman of the education select committee, has called for schools to reopen as soon as possible in order to limit how much disadvantaged children fall behind their peers while at home.
Meanwhile, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, said: “Schools are important because they enable parents to go back to work, particularly primary schools because those are the children who are too young to be left at home alone.”
Yesterday Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, joined calls for schools to reopen ahead of the rest of lockdown.
He said that “in principle” schools should be among the first to reopen as part of a more general easing of restrictions, adding that he was concerned about the “inequality” between children who are getting good home schooling and those who are not.
Dr Loach acknowledged that “in order for the general lockdown to be lifted and for a swathe of the economy to function, it is fairly clear that parents will need access to schools”.
However, he cautioned: “If any ministers were thinking of using teachers as guinea pigs, we would be horrified and so would everyone else.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, also warned against reopening schools in advance of a more general easing of restrictions.
“We cannot think of a worse idea than schools being reopened before general easing of the lockdown, and we sincerely hope that nobody in government is seriously pressing for this to happen,” he said.
Reopening schools would need to be done with the “consent and support” of teachers and parents, he added, and warned that this should not be done “prematurely”.
Leora Cruddas, the Confederation of School Trusts, which represents academies, said the reopening of schools needed to be done in phases. This could involve certain year groups returning to school earlier than others, as well as the school day being staggered over a longer period to ensure that social distancing can be properly observed.
“One year group could start at 8.30am, and another at 9.30am so we don’t have congestion at school gates with large numbers arriving at once,” she said.
Official guidance published by the Department for Education last week stated that school staff do not need PPE, and that teachers should “follow steps on social distancing, handwashing and other hygiene measures”.