Teachers were ‘looking for excuse not to be in class’ during pandemic

‘They really do hate work,’ said education secretary to Hancock about frontline staff and their unions

TEACHERS were looking for an “excuse” not to work during the pandemic, according to Gavin Williamson, who was then education secretary.

He criticised both school staff and unions for their response to the coronavirus, saying that the latter “really do just hate work”.

Mr Williamson made his comments on the work ethic of school staff – in opinions he shared with Matt Hancock, then health secretary – as they prepared for the reopening of classes in May 2020.

By this point, schools had been effectively shut for two months with only vulnerable children and those whose parents were key workers allowed to attend in person. Ministers and teachers were planning for lessons to begin returning in June.

At the time there was a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and Mr Williamson said he had originally been told by officials that they could get this through the local resilience forums, but that the Department of Health had backtracked on this.

He contacted Mr Hancock to ask him to help unblock the request as it “will be very small demand as most schools will already have it and it is only aimed at the situation if a child is clearly ill”.

Mr Williamson explained: “It was basically as a last resort so they can’t use it as a reason not to open.

“All of them will but some will just want to say they can’t so they have an excuse to avoid having to teach, what joys!!!”

Mr Hancock agreed to help, noting that it was a “tiny amount” and it would only be needed when there were “no alternatives”.

By this point, the battle between ministers and teachers had been going on for months.

Unions and schools had repeatedly said that they did not want to put teachers or vulnerable children at risk, and made the point that many staff were attending classes in person for the children of key workers.

Before the Government announced that they would close schools on March 18, some had already made the unilateral decision to shut their doors while others cancelled classes because of staff shortages due to self-isolating.

The National Education Union (NEU) was a vocal critic of the Government’s handling of schools and had attacked ministers for a string of U-turns.

Over the summer of 2020 examinations were cancelled and Mr Williamson, who was sacked as education secretary by Boris Johnson in a Cabinet reshuffle in September 2021, was forced to ditch a controversial algorithm which had determined grades. Relations between the Department for Education and schools reached a low point and Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, accused Mr Williamson of “ignorance and inaction”.

By the autumn, unions had made a number of demands including additional teachers, smaller classes and better access to tests for staff and students.

Helen Whately (Social care minister) Wish we could loosen on children under 12 on rule of 6 for tier 1. 11/10/2020 15:46

Helen Whately

It would make such a difference for families and there isn’t a robust rationale for it. Now is a really good chance to show we have listened. (Lots of MPS were pushing on this during last weeks’ debates) 11/10/2020 16:54

Matt Hancock (Health secretary) They don’t want to go there on this 11/10/2020 17:40

Helen Whately Are we they?! 11/10/2020 17:40

Matt Hancock

As in No10. Also on curfew - they don’t want to shift an inch 11/10/2020 17:54

‘Some will want to say they can’t [open] so they have an excuse to avoid having to teach, what joys!!!”’

Some were calling for exams to be cancelled for a second year. On Oct 1, The Telegraph released a front page confirming Mr Williamson was planning to delay A-levels for a few weeks.

At almost 10pm that day Mr Hancock got in touch with his Cabinet colleague, writing: “Cracking announcement today. What a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are.”

Mr Williamson responded: “I know, they really really do just hate work.”

To which Mr Hancock replied: “[laughing face emojis][target emoji].”

The private comments were at odds with the public statements of politicians, including Boris Johnson, who said in June 2020 that teachers had “responded to the unprecedented challenge of coronavirus” and would be getting a pay rise to “recognise their efforts on the front line”.

Mr Williamson also wrote to teachers in September 2021, thanking them for their “outstanding work” and “incredible efforts throughout the pandemic to provide the very best face-to-face and remote education for children”.