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Despite the tube strike striking workers from across the country including teachers, junior doctors, civil servants, university lecturers and tube workers came together today for a high spirited and creative march and rally in London.
The video above gives just a taste of magnificent day.
Here is a parade of the placards that were on display.
In these dark days of Tory misrule it was exhilerating to join thousands of striking teachers and other workers on the London march to Downing Street today. Bearing in mind this was just a London march, with other marches taking place regionally, the numbers were impressive and showed the depth of feeling of union members.
Beyond the many humorous placards the mood was of steely determination. This could be a prolonged and escalating action.
Police blocked off Whiteall for no apparent reason when half the march was already there
Writers' Union placard
The NEU picket line at Wembley's Ark Academy was well supported this morning with strking teachers joined by Barry Gardiner MP, Cllrs Kathleen Fraser (Barnhill), Cllr Mili Patel (Harlesden & Kensal Green) and Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam (Wembley Park); Graham Durham (Brent Trades Council), myself (Brent Green Party and Trade Union Group) and staff from Chalkhill Primary whose school was closed by the strike.
The picket covered both entrances to the school and numbers built up throughout the early morning. There were plenty of supportive 'toots' from passing vehicles as well as ambulance and bus drivers.
Teachers in England and Wales have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in one of the biggest ballot seem for years. Support staff in Wales also voted for strike action as did those in England, but the latter did not meet the 50% of eligible members voting threshold.
The NAHT also balloted and again members voted for action but did not meet the threshold. It was a disappoining result as school leaders, teacher and support staff all strking would have been extremely powerful but as it is the NEU vote is very strong. After the announcement the NAHT put out this statement:
School leaders’ union NAHT, which represents leaders in the majority of schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, today (Mon 16 Jan) announces the results of its formal industrial action ballots on pay and funding, which began on Fri 11 November and closed on Weds 11 Jan.
The ballot results in England show an extraordinarily strong appetite for taking industrial action amongst leaders, with 87% voting ‘Yes’ to action short of strike (ASOS) and 64% voting ‘Yes’ to strike.
This means almost 10,000 school leaders across England are willing to take industrial action.
However, the legal requirement for turnout in England was not met, with votes counted for 42% of the union’s membership – short of the 50% needed.
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “It is incredibly frustrating that anti-trade union and anti-democratic legislation compelled us to conduct the ballot by post during a period in which the management of the Royal Mail refused to take action to ameliorate the disruption to the postal service.”
There is a sharp contrast between the turnout in NAHT’s electronic consultative ballot for England, which received 64%, and the postal ballot that was restricted by the legislation.
In the final week of the ballot, NAHT surveyed those that had recently requested a ballot paper and 73% of respondents said they had still not received one.
Mr Whiteman continued: “We have to conclude that our democratic process has been compromised by factors outside of our control.
“It is ironic that legislation which the government claims protects the democratic rights of members has actively worked against that objective by not affording an alternative means of voting or allowing a clear ability to extend the deadline. It is notable that elections for party leaders are not constrained in the same way.
“There has been a very strong appetite for action from those we have heard from, with a higher percentage voting ‘Yes’ to both strike and action short of strike than in our consultative online ballot. It is clear our members’ resolve to stand up for themselves and for education has only hardened.
“It is my first priority that we conduct ourselves as a truly democratic union, which means every member’s vote must be counted. If our members feel that they have not had the chance to be heard during this ballot, it may be that we have no option but to start again. The National Executive Committee will meet this week to establish our next steps.
“I warn the government that they are on notice. 10,000 thousand school leaders have made it clear that they are at breaking point with the way things are. That is something that must be listened to. We remain formally in dispute with the government. If progress is not made urgently NAHT members will not be able to keep the show on the road and I have no doubt they will join their NAHT colleagues in Wales and Northern Ireland in taking action.”
School leaders in Wales have voted decisively to take industrial action. NAHT Cyrmu today announces that 95% of its members have voted ‘Yes’ to action short of strike, and 75% have voted ‘Yes’ to strike, with a 55% turnout.
NAHT’s analysis shows that postal disruption was less of a factor in Wales. 96% of the duplicate ballot papers requested were in England.
Mr Whiteman said: “The results of the ballot in Wales are unprecedented and reflect the sheer strength of feeling among school leaders in Wales that the system is broken. They feel they have no choice but to stand up and fight for themselves and for the children and staff in their schools.
“School leaders are relentlessly reasonable people and they have held their schools together throughout a decade of underfunding of education, eroded salaries, and a pandemic. But our members are telling me now that they cannot continue to run their schools in the current circumstances.
“Insufficient pay has caused a severe recruitment and retention crisis, and the lack of resources, funding, services and staff means that the education and support that can be given to pupils is suffering as a consequence. School leaders are doing their best with what little they have, but with their own salaries expected to be worth as much as 22% less this year than in 2010, many are reaching breaking point.
“No school leaders would take industrial action lightly and we will now return to our National Executive Committee to agree what the action voted for will look like and when it will take place. But this is a huge wake up call for Local Authority employers and the Welsh Government. For school leaders to be driven to voting to strike means things have gone very wrong indeed. They urgently need to listen to our members’ concerns and to take action to avoid the consequences of the industrial action to come.”
School leaders in Wales will join their colleagues in Northern Ireland in taking action. Members of NAHT Northern Ireland have been engaged in action short of strike since 18 October 2022.
Notes to editors:
For workers to take legal industrial action, union ballots must reach a 50% turn out. In England, for members in 'important public services’, such as education, at least 40% of all those entitled to vote must vote in favour.
NAHT balloted approximately 25,500 eligible members. This included serving school leaders in state funded schools in England and Wales, but excluded various member categories such as School Business Leaders whose salaries are covered by different bargaining arrangements, not the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). There are 24,413 schools in England.
In England, the union’s dispute is with the government, i.e. the Secretary of State for Education. In Wales, the dispute is with school leaders’ employers i.e. Local Authorities.
In October, NAHT conducted an online survey, to establish members’ views on pay and funding. In that survey, 84% of respondents indicated they would be willing to take action short of strike, and 55% of respondents indicated they would be willing to strike.
A strike ballot is in progress for educators in schools and the Rally was designed to draw attention to the case for a fully funded pay increase. This means that the Government would give schools extra funding to meet the cost of the increase. Without that extra funding cash-strapped schools, if not already in deficit due to increased energy costs and inflation, could go into deficit.
As the major portion of school budgets goes on staffing costs, in order to tackle a deficit schools are likely to try and reduce those staffing costs. Redundancies would hit support staff including teaching assistants and Special Needs support staff who have played an increasingly important role in improving achievement in our schools over the past few decades.
The National Education Union urged members to support strike action in the current ballot:
Over the past decade, teacher pay has suffered a 20% decline in real-terms and support staff pay by 27%. Educators are leaving the profession in their droves.The NEU has provided strong evidence that a fully funded, above-inflation pay increase is needed but this Government has not listened.Vote now in our formal ballot. It's time for Government to #PayUp as #EducatorsDeserveBetter
The National Education Union (NEU) today launched a petition calling for the replacement of Ofsted.
The petition says:
Teachers and leaders work under the shadow cast by Ofsted. An unfair and unreliable inspectorate.
As Ofsted approaches its 30-year anniversary, now is the right time to examine what effect its inspections have on the quality of education that teachers and leaders are able to provide and, in particular, for our most disadvantaged pupils.
In 2017, the National Audit Office concluded that: "Ofsted does not know whether its school inspections are having the intended impact: to raise the standards of education and improve the quality of children's and young people's lives."
Ofsted has never published any research to prove that its inspections accurately reflect the quality of education schools provide. Comprehensive, independent analysis of Ofsted judgements show they discriminate against schools in deprived areas – awarding 'outstanding' grades to four times more secondary schools with better-off pupils than schools with students who are worse off. A major research study showed that, even when schools in deprived areas are making excellent value-added progress, they are still more likely to be given poor Ofsted judgements.
Teachers and leaders know that working in disadvantaged areas is likely to be harmful to their careers because of the unfairness of Ofsted judgements. It is harder to recruit and retain teachers in these schools. Poor children, who most need qualified and experienced teachers if they are to fulfil their potential, are least likely to get them.
School inspection must be fair. It should be supportive. It should not be, as too many Ofsted inspections are, punitive.
The stress and unsustainable workload generated by Ofsted is a major factor in the appalling teacher retention rates that blight English education. Nearly 40 per cent of teachers leave the profession within ten years. No education system can improve while it haemorrhages school leaders and teachers. We must create a new approach to school and college evaluation which is effective and fair.
We are calling on the Government to:
- Replace Ofsted with a school accountability system which is supportive, effective and fair.
- Work with teachers, leaders and other stakeholders to establish a commission to learn how school accountability is done in other high performing education nations.
- Develop an accountability system which commands the trust and confidence of education staff as well as parents and voters.
Both the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats have policy to replace Ofsted in its current form.
Sign the petition HERE
Brent NEU issued the following statement following yesterday's story, subsequently pulled, following doubts over its source:
We know that Byron Court Primary School are considering academisation and the NEU is completely opposed to all privatisation of state education.
As such we are engaging in meetings with our members and the school to ensure that a full and meaningful consultation takes place.The NEU is prepared to take industrial action when there is any proposal to academise a school. However this is a last resort. The NEU will also issue press releases when we are in dispute with any school.The article which appeared on this blog previously was not issued by the NEU or by any of our reps or officers but was deliberately written to make it seem as though it was. It is completely unacceptable to us that this "open letter" was sent out widely in the name of school staff, without consulting anyone, and anonymously.The NEU is supporting its reps and members in the school.Jenny CooperBrent NEU Joint District Secretary
Editor's note:
I apologise for any problems caused by yesterday's publication which was deleted as soon as I was told it was not NEU's official position.
Five education unions have written to the Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi, asking him to urgently reconsider the reintroduction of additional safety measures in schools, given the rising rates of Covid infection and absence among school students.
The five unions – GMB, NASUWT, NEU, UNISON and UNITE – will also be writing to all local authorities and directors of public health asking them to consider measures in their local areas.
The unions have pointed to measures now being readopted in several local authority areas in response to rising cases, including social distancing measures, reintroduction of bubbles, avoidance of large gatherings such as assemblies and meetings, and reintroduction of face coverings in secondary schools.
The unions have warned that without such measures, students’ education and the health of students, their families and school staff will all be damaged unnecessarily.
Avril Chambers, GMB National Officer, said: "Yet again we appear to have denial of the facts from this Government. Covid cases among school pupils are growing exponentially and it is clear further mitigation measures are needed immediately. School staff have kept our schools open throughout the pandemic: they deserve to stay safe and our children deserve not to have their education interrupted any more than it already has been. The minister needs to act now."
Patrick Roach, General Secretary, NASUWT said: “As cases rise, ministers need to look again at supporting schools with onsite testing into the spring term, rather than relying on home testing, which is less effective. There is an urgent need for the Government to consider reinstating the requirement for pupils to self-isolate if they are in close contact with someone who has tested positive. Proportionate safety measures and appropriate support for schools are essential in breaking the continuing chain of virus transmission.”
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary, National Education Union, said: ‘We are concerned that the Government is standing by while COVID cases surge across schools. It is evident that more needs to be done, and sooner rather than later, to prevent further massive disruption to children’s education, caused either by children contracting covid-19 or covid-related staff absence. The most effective way of keeping children in educatiois to do more now to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in schools.’
Jon Richards, UNISON assistant general secretary, said: “Ministers must do all they can to stop continued disruption to classroom learning as infections rise. To offer pupils and staff greater protection, face masks must return right away, along with school bubbles and other sensible precautions that were ditched. Air filters are also key to limiting the virus spread and ensuring pupils have a more stable academic year.”
Jim Kennedy, Unite national officer for education, said: “Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has a great opportunity to reset the safety agenda for schools, following the departure of Gavin Williamson. With winter fast approaching and with Covid still rampant the whole range of measures to keep school children safe needs to be deployed – the rising level of infections in schools demand it.”
The full text of the letter is as follows:
The Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP
Secretary of State for Education
Department for Education
20 Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT 8 October 2021
Dear Secretary of State
We are writing as unions representing school leaders, teachers and support staff to urge you to give all education settings the guidance and resources they need to keep pupils safely learning for the rest of this term. We began this term hoping for better times and a more normal feel across the education system but, as the weeks have gone by it has become clear that the DfE guidance published on 23 August requires urgent updating.
Thresholds in the DfE contingency framework for even seeking advice following cases are set too high; meaning that cases can already be spreading across a school before additional measures are considered.
Government data shows that confirmed Covid-19 cases amongst school-aged children surged to 102,000 on 30 September, a 67 per cent rise since 16 September. Over 204,000 pupils were absent from school on 30 September for covid-related reasons. Staff absence is also impacting on education with some children suffering disruption as a result of staff absence, and staff and leaders under enormous strain as a result.
It is unclear when the impact of the vaccination programme for 12- to 15-year-olds will begin to be felt and so in the meantime more needs to be done to prevent the spread.
Many other countries in Europe that have kept in place proportionate mitigation measures in schools, such as face coverings and quarantine of close contacts whilst rolling out a vaccination programme, and have not experienced the back-to-school surge in cases that we have seen in England.
In addition, a growing number of councils are now using the freedoms they have under the Department for Education guidance to bring in additional mitigations in schools. This reflects their responsibilities for public health, and also under health and safety legislation.
Staffordshire County Council for example is encouraging all schools to introduce a range of measures including to stop whole-school assemblies and bring back classroom bubbles and face coverings; all close contacts to get a PCR test; and reintroduction of staggered start, finish and lunch times because it is "time to be proactive" about rising cases.
Additional mitigations have been recommended in areas including Cambridgeshire, City of Wolverhampton Council, Cumbria County Council and in some London boroughs. For example, in Cumbria, siblings of children diagnosed with Covid should be kept at home until their test comes back negative.
These are all important measures that we believe need to be implemented across all schools. Combined with a relentless focus on ventilation, with use of HEPA filters where ventilation cannot be improved in any other way (a focus which will reap benefits far beyond the end of the pandemic) these measures could make a real difference in England.
Without a change of direction, we risk damaging the education of thousands of children at some point before Christmas. The health of some children, but particularly that of vulnerable staff, parents or grandparents, could be compromised.
This is an urgent problem, and we look forward to your swift response. We would also welcome the opportunity for an urgent meeting with you to discuss these matters further.
Jenny Cooper, Co-Secretary of Brent National Education Union told Wembley Matters:
We asked Brent Council officers to bring in additional measures in schools that reach the DfE threshold. But they appear to be toeing the government line of minimum disruption to schools so no return to bubbles etc. However we know from our members that in the long term such an approach causes more disruption.
To:
Department of Education
We are concerned that when children return to school in September very few mitigations to slow the spread of Covid 19 will be present.
For example, according to DfE guidance, it won't be necessary to keep children in consistent groups, only very limited numbers of children will be contact traced by NHS Test and Trace and in general face coverings are 'not advised' for pupils, staff, or even visitors, anywhere on school premises.
In these circumstances there is a strong possibility of steeply increasing Covid cases in the Autumn, with some children suffering from Long Covid as a result. There are also concerns about a new wave of other respiratory diseases such as flu and RSV which are worse for children than Covid.
School staff, some of whom will not be double vaccinated, or are in a vulnerable group, are also in some cases still at risk of serious illness. Staff who are fully vaccinated are also still at risk of catching the virus and potentially developing Long Covid, which is already afflicting tens of thousands of school staff.
So we are very concerned that in an answer to a parliamentary question the DfE has confirmed that they have 'not provided specific additional funding for schools to improve classroom ventilation since January 2021' and that they are only now working on a pilot scheme to measure the adequacy of ventilation in classrooms.
The benefits of ventilation in the control of airborne diseases are already well understood and accepted - what we need now is concrete action to support schools rather than pilots which should have been undertaken more than a year ago.
Therefore we, the undersigned, call for urgent action by the DfE to invest in ventilation measures in our schools, including but not limited to the provision of CO2 monitors to monitor air quality and other measures, including where appropriate HEPA filters, which can help slow the spread of such diseases.
Commenting on "The forgotten: how White working-class pupils have been let down, and how to change it", a report by the House of Commons Education Committee, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"It is important to understand that social class is the biggest determinant of educational success or failure. Too many children and young people are disengaged from the curriculum. It is time to acknowledge the link between our current curriculum and assessment approach and the de-motivation of thousands of students.“We believe the experiences of working-class students in education do merit much greater focus. They suggest a case for an overhaul of the assessment system and bold thinking on issues such as extended schools and restoring the services around a school which families need. We need to extend youth clubs, boost mentoring programmes, and think about vocational pathways and getting a much better balance back into the curriculum."With 4.3 million children trapped in poverty, the report should do more to acknowledge the impact of poverty and the huge challenge that poverty poses for schools. Whilst schools can make a difference, they can't make the difference on poverty.“The NEU believes that experiences and stereotypes around class and ethnicity are inter-related, and we must therefore support schools to think about sex, class and ethnicity. Indeed, from the report’s own evidence, it is Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children whose attainment and entry to higher education needs the most attention, and findings for Black Caribbean children on Free School Meals are insignificantly different to white children on FSM."Making critical statements about teacher quality in poorer areas, as this report does, obscures the real discussion about what heads and teachers in high-poverty schools actually need in order to champion and empower learners. The school accountability system must understand the context for different schools. We certainly don't support more punitive sanctions as a route to retain teachers."The report should have explored whether an average of £50 per pupil will be enough to support their recovery. This does not match the commitment our international neighbours are making to their children - the Netherlands and the United States are investing £2,500 and £1,600 per pupil respectively."We are worried about the stealth cuts to Pupil Premium funding that will leave almost all schools struggling financially, with pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds being the hardest hit. This will undermine the life chances of working-class students."It is deeply unhelpful to try and make it harder to talk in schools about racism, which seems to be one intention of the report. Racism is endemic across society and in workplaces and nearly half of Black children are living in poverty. Racist content is being targeted at young people online in working-class areas across the country and so all schools must talk proactively about racism, including tackle racist bullying, in age-appropriate ways. We think a proper role for Government would be to share good practice about how to tackle racism using education, and how to develop teachers' skills around poverty-proofing the school day. The NEU has published guidance on this."Both challenging racism and empowering all working-class students should be at the heart of this next phase of recovery education, after Covid. We should be prepared to ask big questions about how to redesign education to respond to these inequalities."
From the National Education Union - a brilliant initiative
Today, the National Education Union formally endorses Are Vaccines Safe? and will promote the tools to its membership. As the largest education union in Europe, this is a major next step.
The Runnymede Trust, a leading independent think tank on issues of race equality, is also supporting the materials.
Available here as a PowerPoint, and over the course of 46 slides, Are Vaccines Safe? provides teachers and school leaders with accurate, up-to-date scientific information on a range of frequently asked questions about the vaccination programme. It has been structured to allow school age students to engage fully in a conversation about any uncertainties or concerns they may have. Staff who lead the assembly or class are provided with additional notes and references.
The Stephen Hawking Foundation is named after one of the most respected thinkers in modern science, who died in 2018. The Foundation has worked with staff at Morpeth School, London, who initially devised these materials for assemblies and classrooms, as a continuation of Hawking’s belief in critical thinking and public engagement with science.
The tools have now been further developed with Queen Mary University of London and the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) with the help of school-age students, teachers, scientists, science communicators and community representatives. The resources will continue to be subject to regular revision over the coming months, in order to keep pace with the science, the news agenda and the public conversation.
Are Vaccines Safe? was the brainchild of Ed Stubbs, a secondary school teacher at Morpeth School in Tower Hamlets, East London. He told us: “As a teacher previously working in inner-city Liverpool, and now in London, I have noticed students becoming increasingly fearful of vaccination. Some of my students and their families refuse their school vaccinations. I hear incorrect, and 'conspiracy' information shared in my classroom. I fear that students' real and fictional concerns increase UK vaccine hesitancy. The charged and often accusatory debate about vaccination choices can make young people feel hesitant about voicing their concerns and seeking help in debunking false information. They fear critical judgement over their doubts. I decided to create a set of unbiased resources for use in schools.”
The learning materials (PowerPoint file, Teacher's notes and PDF) can be downloaded free from the Stephen Hawking Foundation website. The public-facing link is www.stephenhawkingfoundation.org/vaccines.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“As a former science teacher myself, I know that school is absolutely the right place for this conversation to be held. Young people have many questions about COVID and the vaccine, and this is not surprising when they themselves have been so frequently at the centre of its news coverage. These brilliant tools are accessible and robust, tackling many of the myths which can build so easily online and within communities. We are sure that our members will find them a fantastic resource.”
Dr Halima Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, said:
“Young people are faced with conflicting information about vaccines at a time when we are all trying to cope with and manage a public health crisis like never before. Enabling young people to ask questions about vaccines and their efficacy, as well as build good public health and science understanding, will help with building their confidence in taking the vaccine and making an informed decision, supported by teachers.
"This will have a particularly positive effect on young people from BME groups who are often in households where their grandparents and parents rely on good advice from their children, as a result of various cultural barriers in accessing community health support.”
Lucy Hawking, chair of the Stephen Hawking Foundation's Trustees, said:
"We are delighted to have the endorsement of two organisations with such strong dedication to schools and their communities. Working on these tools has been one of the most timely and impactful projects the Stephen Hawking Foundation has ever run. This is essential educational outreach at a critical time, and we greatly appreciate the efforts of everyone involved throughout its development.
"Initial feedback shows a warm reception by educators in the UK and as we hoped, is a useful and productive resource for schools to give students a chance to explore issues around vaccination through asking questions and providing accurate, scientific answers. We hope more schools, families and students will have the chance to access this resource.”
Professor Heidi Larson, director of the Vaccine Confidence Project, said:
"I feel teachers are ideally placed to combat the UK’s falling vaccination rates. This programme has been carefully calibrated to include the insights of some of the leading scientists in this field but to make the information accessible to people of all ages and communities.”
The tools have also been developed with and supported by science communicator Dr Emily Grossman, who said:
“In a world full of fake news and dangerous misinformation, it’s so important that the young people of today can find out the truth about the COVID vaccine.
"This set of resources is so valuable, not only because it communicates simply and effectively the science behind how vaccines work, how effective they are and how safe they are; but also because it allows young people to ask questions and it allays concerns they might have from reading confusing, conflicting and at times frightening reports on the internet. The more widely this resource pack is distributed, the better informed this generation will be. Not only will that allow them to make better decisions based on solid science, it will also give them the tools they need in order to analyse information more critically in the future.”
Following this afternoon's announcement of a return of all pupils and students to schools and colleges on March 8th, Jenny Cooper, joint secretary of Brent National Education Union said:
With cases still high in Brent and sadly many deaths in our community, the Prime Minister's road map beginning with full reopening of schools on March 8th is irresponsible at best.
The Prime Minister stated that 'the threat remains substantial'. On that basis the NEU will now be advising its members on how best to push back for a careful, sensible and phased return of pupils rather than the proposed return of 10 million at once.
Unions have responded to the Prime Minister’s statement that schools will reopen on March 8. (from Union News website LINK)
NEU general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said:
“Today’s announcement that all pupils will return to English schools on 8 March demonstrates, again, that Boris Johnson has, despite all his words of caution, failed to learn the lessons of his previous mistakes.
“Whilst cases of Covid infection are falling, along with hospitalisation rates, it remains the case, unfortunately, that cases are three times higher now than when schools re-opened last September. This fact, alone, should have induced caution rather than, in the words of Nadhim Zahawi an ‘ambitious’ school return which runs the risk of schools, once again, becoming, in the Prime Minister’s words on 4 January, ‘vector of transmission’ into the community. This risk is greatly elevated because of the new variants of Covid which are significantly more transmissive.
“Why has the English government not taken the same route as Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland whose cautious, phased approach to school opening will enable their governments to assess the impact a return to the classroom will have on the R rate and to make necessary adjustments to their plans.
“A ‘big bang’ school reopening brings 10 million people back into crowded buildings with no social distancing and inadequate ventilation. The wearing of face masks by pupils and staff in in secondary school lessons is a welcome measure but it is not, on its own enough.
“The government has had two months to put extra mitigations in place to stop the growth in infection in schools that was seen from September to December. Where are the ventilation units for classrooms? Where are the nightingale classrooms? Where is the PHE testing which school leaders could rely upon to give more accurate results? It is no good political parties talking about these safeguards when they know very well that they have not been put in place and will not be put in place by 8 March. Words are cheap. Actions are needed.
“The government must publish the science and the modelling which informs their unique school return plan. It should also make plans to protect vulnerable and older education staff who should be supported to work from home until their vaccinations take effect.
“While schools and colleges will, as always, go the extra mile, headteachers should have been given the flexibility offered in the other nations to plan for a phased school return. It would have been far better to take that time to plan and implement a successful and sustainable wider opening – which today’s announcement does not, unfortunately, guarantee.”
The UCU said any wider reopening of college and university campuses from 8 March is irresponsible and risks undoing the country’s hard work to get Covid rates down.
The union called on employers to use common sense and keep teaching online wherever possible to reduce the risk of further Covid outbreaks. It said that for many courses this would mean there should mean no return to on-campus activity this academic year.
Where courses do require an element of in-person teaching, the union said employers must meet with UCU health and safety representatives to agree new risk assessments to protect staff, students and the wider community. It said assessments need to take account of a number of factors including the increased transmissibility of new variants, ventilation, PPE and how to support workers who need to shield. It also raised concerns over the potential use of unreliable lateral flow tests.
UCU said that where staff feel their health and safety is being put at risk, it will support members to fight to protect themselves, colleagues and students, including through industrial action ballots.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said:
“The Prime Minister seems to be pushing ahead with an irresponsible reopening of schools, colleges and universities at the same time. Pushing students and staff back onsite increases the risk of more Covid outbreaks and threatens to undo the country’s hard work to get infection rates down.
“Lateral flow tests are completely unsuitable for testing on campuses. They are unreliable and incorrect negative results may give people a false sense of security, increasing the risk outbreaks. The government must not use them to reopen colleges and universities.
“We expect employers to keep teaching online wherever possible to prevent campuses from seeding the virus. For many courses this will mean no return to campus this academic year. UCU accepts that some university and college courses will need some in-person teaching but this needs to be very carefully managed to keep staff and students safe. Employers will need to agree new risk assessments with our health and safety representatives that take account of increased transmission rates of new variants, ventilation, PPE and how vulnerable employees will be supported to stay off campus.
“Employers must work with us to protect staff and student safety. If our members feel their health and safety is being put at risk, then we will support them to protect themselves, including through balloting for industrial action where necessary.”
Nine education organisations have joined together to issue a statement on the wider opening of schools and colleges in England. This statement is issued ahead of the Prime Minister’s expected announcement on Monday. The signatories are the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), GMB, National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), NASUWT, National Education Union (NEU), National Governance Association (NGA), Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA), Unison, and Unite.
