UK
Teaching unions press for primary school openings to be halted across England after London U-turn
Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green said last-minute decisions ahead of term on Monday have caused “huge stress” for pupils, families and staff
By Georgina Littlejohn
January 2, 2021
Teachers and unions have called for all primary schools across England to remain closed (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Teaching unions have called for all schools to stay shut across the country after the Government announced all London primary schools will remain closed next week.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was accused of causing another chaotic U-turn after he confirmed on New Year’s Day that schools across the capital will not reopen from Monday, as London battles with high levels of coronavirus infections.
Teaching unions have called for all schools to stay shut across the country after the Government announced all London primary schools will remain closed next week.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was accused of causing another chaotic U-turn after he confirmed on New Year’s Day that schools across the capital will not reopen from Monday, as London battles with high levels of coronavirus infections.
Under the Government’s initial plan, secondary schools and colleges were set to be closed to most pupils for the first two weeks of January, while primary schools within 50 local authorities in London and the south of England were also told to keep their doors shut.
Mr Williamson said the decision to escalate the measure by closing all London primary schools was a “last resort”.
He said: “As infection rates rise across the country, and particularly in London, we must make this move to protect our country and the NHS.
“We will continue to keep the list of local authorities under review, and reopen classrooms as soon as we possibly can.”
‘Chaos for parents’
While the move was welcomed as the “right decision” by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green said the last-minute nature of the Government’s decision had caused “huge stress” for pupils, families and staff.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has been accused of causing another chaotic U-turn (Photo by -/PRU/AFP via Getty Images)
She said: “This is yet another Government U-turn creating chaos for parents just two days before the start of term.
“Gavin Williamson’s incompetent handling of the return of schools and colleges is creating huge stress for parents, pupils, and school and college staff and damaging children’s education.”
Dr Mary Bousted, joint head of the National Education Union which has more than 450,000 members, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that all schools – primary and secondary – across England should close, not just those in London.
Ignoring scientific advice
She said: “We know the virus is up to 70 per cent more infectious and the thing we do uniquely with children is we put them all together in secondary schools where we know children really can transmit, in year group bubbles of up to 240 pupils with no social distancing.
“So it is not difficult to see why secondary school pupils are the highest age group for Covid infection and primary schools are the second highest.”
And the NASUWT union, which represents 300,000 teachers and headteachers, accused the government of ignoring scientific advice that suggested school closures could be “essential in breaking the chain of coronavirus transmission”.
Its general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said parents and teachers in tier four areas would “no doubt wonder why the government regards the risks to their health and safety as less significant than in other tier four areas in London and the South East
She said: “This is yet another Government U-turn creating chaos for parents just two days before the start of term.
“Gavin Williamson’s incompetent handling of the return of schools and colleges is creating huge stress for parents, pupils, and school and college staff and damaging children’s education.”
Dr Mary Bousted, joint head of the National Education Union which has more than 450,000 members, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that all schools – primary and secondary – across England should close, not just those in London.
Ignoring scientific advice
She said: “We know the virus is up to 70 per cent more infectious and the thing we do uniquely with children is we put them all together in secondary schools where we know children really can transmit, in year group bubbles of up to 240 pupils with no social distancing.
“So it is not difficult to see why secondary school pupils are the highest age group for Covid infection and primary schools are the second highest.”
And the NASUWT union, which represents 300,000 teachers and headteachers, accused the government of ignoring scientific advice that suggested school closures could be “essential in breaking the chain of coronavirus transmission”.
Its general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said parents and teachers in tier four areas would “no doubt wonder why the government regards the risks to their health and safety as less significant than in other tier four areas in London and the South East
No comments:
Post a Comment