10 Brent councillors support professional associations over school re-opening

Ten Brent councillors have signed a letter support the call by  education professional associations calling for schools not to re-open for Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils (they are open at present for vulnerable and key worker children) until it is safe to do so.

They also call for meal vouchers for children entield to free school meals over the summer and measures to protect children who may be affected by domestic violence.

The councillors are Cllrs Thakker, Georgiou, Hector,  Kennelly, Lloyd, Afzal, Chan, Ketan Sheth, Nerva and Tatler.

The full letter is below:

Should Cllr Butt follow Haringey leader on school re-openings?

As a press campaign, led by the Daily Mail, builds against teacher unions it is time that we saw some leadership in Brent.

Brent has many similarities with Haringey and in particular faces the disproportionate impact on BAME communities of the coronavirus.

Headteachers, school staff and parents are naturally anxious so it is important that they hear from the leader of the Council, Muhammed Butt;  the lead member for Schools Employment & Skills, Amer Agha; and Mili Patel, lead member for Children's Safeguarding, Early Help and Social Care.

Schools are grappling with demands from the government that could go very wrong and cause unnecessary illness or death - they deserve more than silence.

A piece of heritage returns to Wembley Park

Guest blog by Philip Grant

It may be some time before “staying at home” and restrictions on social gatherings are eased, which would allow us to return to the Civic Centre or Wembley Arena, but when we can there will be something “new” to see.

 

The telephone kiosks being installed
in Arena Square, Engineers Way.
(Photo courtesy of Quintain)

I heard last week that Quintain, the Wembley Park developers, have acquired three of the traditional red telephone boxes, which are being installed in Arena Square, opposite the Civic Centre.

Long-term residents of Wembley may remember a row of three such kiosks, which used to stand in Empire Way, not far from the western end of Wembley Arena. They were the iconic K6 telephone kiosks, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to mark the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935 (the year after the Empire Pool, as it then was, opened). Those boxes were removed by BT about 15 years ago. 

 

The Empire Pool in 1948, with the row of three ‘phone boxes marked. (Based on “Britain from Above” image EAW018319)

Quintain had been looking to recreate the row of three red boxes for some time, and have reintroduced these kiosks to the local scene as part of their "public realm" improvements.  We won't be able to make a call from them (or press button “B” to get our 4d back). I have been told that they will probably be used for art displays and other community events, once “normal” life returns.

It is purely by chance that I received this Wembley Park “heritage” news just in time to share it with you now. My new series of illustrated local history articles, starting this coming weekend, is The Wembley Park Story!

Philip Grant.

Details of priority areas in Brent to support social distancing

I now have details of the areas highlighted for action by Brent Council to support social distancing. The action has been taken by emergency measure.

Compassion London to provide Covid crisis meals from Wembley Stadium

From a press release

Compassion London, the charity established to provide nutritious meals to people in need during the Covid-19 crisis, is moving its emergency response operation into Wembley Stadium connected by EE. 

Thanks to the valued support of the Football Association and Wembley staff who have joined in to assist the initiative, Compassion London are aiming to cook and deliver 20,000 meals per day.  

The charity was founded in response to the Covid-19 lockdown to provide meals to NHS staff and other key workers, individuals and families in need, and the most vulnerable in our society. 

Compassion London is run by a team of volunteer chefs, delivery drivers and support staff working seven days a week. It relies on donations of food and funding from a wide range of partners. In its first six weeks it delivered in excess of 85,000 meals.  

Moving to Wembley allows Compassion London to upscale their reach considerably. The help of Wembley’s Executive Head Chef, Harry Lomas, and Delaware North, the stadium’s caterers, is invaluable in working towards that goal. 

 Leon Aarts, founder of Compassion London, commented: 

Our purpose is the principle of no-one to bed hungry. We plan to cook 20,000 free meals each day cooked by chefs and delivered by volunteers. We are so thankful for the support of Wembley Stadium and the individuals who have gone out of their way to help us to help others. Our meals fuel the carers and also go to people who are struggling to eat.

 Jon Sellins, Operations Director at Wembley Stadium said:

Compassion London is run by a passionate team of volunteers with a simple mission: to help others in this time of crisis. We are very pleased to be able to support them by offering up the facilities and expertise we have available at Wembley Stadium. We hope that this infrastructure will allow them to upscale their response and will mean that their meals reach even more people in need at this difficult time.

 Harry Lomas MBE, BEM, Head of Culinary, Delaware North, Wembley Stadium, added:

The initiative of using an empty kitchen and bringing food together to feed vulnerable people and the NHS is fantastic. It’s a win win situation. We are people and we are doing our little bit for people.

Unprecedented unity as education unions call on Government to step back fron June 1st starting date to enable talks on safe return

In a significant development over the conflict on whether schools should re-open at present the TUC issued the following statement this afternoon.  In Brent concerns were expressed at an on-line meeting of Chairs of Governors with Brent's Strategic Director for Children and Young People. yesterday afternoon.  Next week there will be a meeting between education unions the Chief Education Officer and the Director.

Education unions’ statement on the safe reopening of schools

Unions with members in the education sector are today (Wednesday) publishing a joint statement on the safe reopening of schools.

Today’s statement follows a longer statement to the Secretary of State on Friday (8 May), which set out in full detail the principles and tests necessary for the safe reopening of schools. It is signed by AEP, GMB, NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, NSEAD, Prospect, UNISON and Unite.

Full text of today’s statement:

“We all want schools to re-open, but that should only happen when it is safe to do so. The government is showing a lack of understanding about the dangers of the spread of coronavirus within schools, and outwards from schools to parents, sibling and relatives, and to the wider community.

“Uniquely, it appears, school staff will not be protected by social distancing rules. 15 children in a class, combined with their very young age, means that classrooms of 4 and 5-year olds could become sources of Covid-19 transmission and spread. While we know that children generally have mild symptoms, we do not know enough about whether they can transmit the disease to adults. We do not think that the government should be posing this level of risk to our society.

“We call on the government to step back from the 1st June and work with us to create the conditions for a safe return to schools based on the principles and tests we have set out.”

The principles and tests include :

· Safety and welfare of pupils and staff as the paramount principle

· No increase in pupil numbers until full rollout of a national test and trace scheme

· A national Covid-19 education taskforce with government, unions and education stakeholders to agree statutory guidance for safe reopening of schools

· Consideration of the specific needs of vulnerable students and families facing economic disadvantage

· Additional resources for enhanced school cleaning, PPE and risk assessments

· Local autonomy to close schools where testing indicates clusters of new covid-19 cases

NEU on the situation of BAME workers in our schools

The National Education Union has now published the item below on the situation of BAME workers in education. Reader's won't need telling that this is a significant issue in Brent with its large number of black and ethnic minority workers in our schools.

1.  The Government’s plans for a wider opening of schools are reckless and not supported by the NEU. We are calling on the Government to re-think their timetable urgently. The NEU is deeply concerned by the emerging data about the disproportionate effects and number of deaths due to COVID-19 for Black1 NHS staff and Black populations. The Office for National Statistics’ findings show a greater impact of the virus in areas of the country with wider health inequalities and higher rates of poverty and on Black communities even after health and deprivation is accounted for.
    
2. Black staff are more likely to work in schools which serve deprived communities. The NEU wants this unequal level of risk to be a major consideration within the Government’s response to Coronavirus and its plans to suppress transmission.  Nearly 70% (1733) of Black staff who responded on May 10th to a snap NEU poll, said they would feel ‘very unsafe’ about returning to the workplace.
    
3. The NEU is engaging with the Department for Education (DfE) about the implications of the evidence on racial disparities, both in terms of the importance for public health of not opening schools until it is safe to do so; and the implications for Black educators, alongside other staff who may be vulnerable. The NEU petition demanding that schools should not open until safe to do so has attracted more than 400,000 signatures.
    
4. We are discussing with the DfE advice about specific risks for Black staff, which will need to be updated as evidence emerges from the Government’s inquiry into these risks.
    
5. The NEU is calling on the Government to share the data and models on which it is evaluating the timeline for commencing a phased return for more students. An essential part of this planning must be to take account of the emerging research findings and ensure risk assessments for Black staff who have underlying health conditions or live with someone who is shielding or who are pregnant. This must remain the case regardless of the Government’s announcement about wider opening.
    
6. Black staff with an underlying health condition who are being pressured to go into work (rather than work at home) should speak immediately to the NEU workplace representative or contact the NEU Advice Line. We expect headteachers to continue to negotiate the rotas in use currently with NEU members. We are asking and advising leaders not to start planning for 1 June as we do not think it is safe to do that at this stage and are in urgent talks with the DFE.
    
7. The NEU thinks the Government Inquiry into the disproportionate effect and rate of deaths for Black  people is necessary and urgent to save lives. The remit of the Inquiry will need to incorporate the role of racism within workplaces and the effect of racism on workers’ ability to secure safe working conditions, learning urgently from concerns from some Black staff in the NHS that it was harder for them to obtain PPE than their peers. PPE also needs to be adaptable to fit over turbans, hijabs or beards.
    
8. Black workers regularly face stereotyping, bias and attitudes at work which make it hard to raise concerns or highlight aspects of workplace culture which are exclusionary. It is important that the racial disparities within the pandemic are not discussed in schools in ways which reinforce stereotypes, such as stereotypes about migration or globalisation causing Covid-19. However, this does not mean silence about race or racism is the right way forward - we need to acknowledge the existence of racism in workplaces.
    
9. The NEU thinks that schools need to be alive to the concrete increase of racism during the pandemic and the risk that negative attitudes about race and immigration could grow because of fear and uncertainty. The NEU has published a  poster for schools to share with parents/ carers which signposts organisations to which parents or students can get a range of help including where to report racist harassment, incidents or attacks.
    
10. The NEU also wants to capture the hundreds of positive community initiatives which members are leading and co- ordinating. See the NEU’s free Create box idea. We are urging members to share these ideas, and other community responses, across their Union networks to inspire others and share great practice. 

Fighting Covid19 in Brent Rally to be addressed by local MPs, councillors & trade unionists - May 27th

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