County’s schools ‘must let go of arbitrary date for wider reopening’ union urges
West Sussex schools must let go of an ‘arbitrary’ date for wider reopening set by the government, a union has urged.
The Department for Education announced Monday, June 1, as the earliest date primary schools in England may be able to welcome back primary school children in nursery, reception, Year 1 and Year 6 as the lockdown eases.
Last week West Sussex County Council said it had held detailed discussions with school and academy representatives and unions across the county to consider the government’s position that schools should begin to reopen from next month.
The aim is for a phased return to start from June 1 and the county council said schools were showing support for this approach, with individual risk assessments identifying how this can best be managed safely for pupils and staff.
Days later the National Education Union criticised WSCC’s approach. It claimed a number of West Sussex schools will not open more widely on June 1 with a number of headteachers calling for reassurances from the government.
James Ellis, NEU regional officer, said they wanted children to return to school as soon as possible but only when safe. The union’s five tests to measure this ‘have not been met’. He added: “This system just isn’t ready yet and so we believe West Sussex County Council is acting too hastily.”
The NEU claims primary schools run by The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT) and The University of Brighton Academies Trust have already confirmed they will not yet open more widely on June 1.
The latter declined to comment, but a spokesman for TKAT said: “We have decided to use the week beginning June 1 to ensure our schools are safe and our staff are fully trained, in order to be ready to partially reopen our secondary schools later that week and our primary schools on the 8th June.”
Anne Barker, NEU West Sussex joint branch secretary and health and safety officer, said safety was the main concern and time was needed for meaningful consultation with staff on risk assessments before making any final decisions. “We are ready to do that on the basis of our five tests and our checklist, but schools must let go of this arbitrary June 1 date,” she said.
Meanwhile UNISON, which represents support staff in schools, called for better engagement with the unions. Branch secretary Dan Sartin described how schools have had information which is either wrong and needed to be corrected days later, or very late, or which is unclear.
The county council said it is ‘extremely grateful’ to school staff for supporting pupils to learn from home and enabling vulnerable children and those with key worker parents to safely remain at school during the lockdown.
A spokesman said the phased return would need to be led by each individual school’s risk assessment of how this can be managed safely for pupils and staff, with schools asked to prioritise vulnerable and key worker children and those who are disadvantaged with limited access to online learning.
They added: “Everyone involved in education in West Sussex wants what’s best for our children – to keep them safe and keep them learning.”