Portsmouth teacher and National Education Union president hits out at government for ‘ploughing on’ with school reopening

During yesterday’s (May 24) daily coronavirus press briefing, Boris Johnson insisted the government was still intending to go ahead with plans to reopen schools on June 1 for Year R,1 and 6 pupils. Education secretary Gavin Williamson reiterated this intention this morning (May 25).

Union leader Amanda Martin, who also teaches in Portsmouth, said: ‘The prime minister last night and Gavin Williamson this morning have ploughed on with the wider opening of schools despite mounting scientific evidence and concerns.

‘Regardless of what Boris Johnson said, the death rate and infection rate is still too high and there’s no established track and trace system.

‘There has been no modelling by SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) as to what impact opening schools under government guidelines would have on our communities.’

The prime minister’s public statement of intent comes after many local authorities expressed concerns about reopening schools on the proposed date with many stating they would be unable to do so.

A BBC survey of 99 councils found only 20 were advising schools to open more widely on June 1 with 15 stating they would not be advising schools to reopen to more pupils.

Of those who responded, 68 said they could not guarantee reopening to all the year groups stipulated by the government.

The prime minister’s message came just 24 hours after Portsmouth City Council said it would ‘respect’ the decision of its schools if they decided to remain closed beyond June 1.

The council’s blessing followed the publication of an independent scientific report led by the government’s former chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, which described the government’s plan as a ‘dangerous decision’ and recommended a delay of at least another two weeks.

Commenting on the situation, the council’s cabinet member for education, Cllr Suzy Horton, said: ‘In the light of the report, some schools will feel that it is right to wait for another two weeks before opening for additional children.’

A number of the city’s headteachers have already announced they cannot reopen for all intended year groups on June 1 under the current government guidelines which stipulate class sizes of no more than 15 pupils.

One of those, Copnor Primary School headteacher, Douglas Brawley, told parents: ‘We have approached it from so many angles now and we just don’t have the capacity to get it to work, whilst staying within the guidelines.’

One of the key concerns for schools and teaching unions is the issue of social distancing. Despite the continued government mantra of maintaining two metres distance, the government’s guidelines for reopening accepts ‘this will not always be possible for younger children’.

Ms Martin commented: ‘The government are still not able to say if or how social distancing will work in schools and what the transfer rate will be for pupil to pupil and pupil to adult.’

SAGE published its own report which said the risk of coronavirus to pupils going back to the classroom was ‘very, very small, but it is not zero’. The group also questioned the lack of clarity over potential transmission to adults such as teachers and family members.

After being questioned by journalists, the prime minister conceded ‘it may not be possible for all schools to reopen’ on June 1.

The government is obliged to carry out a review of lockdown measures every three weeks – the next one is due on May 28.

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