School reopening plans in England criticised by teaching unions

Teaching unions have criticised Boris Johnson’s plan for all children to return to school in England on March 8 as “inexplicable” after the UK prime minister ignored their pleas for a staggered approach.

Johnson will set out his intention for a full reopening of schools in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, as part of his “road map” for a “cautious” return to normality following the country’s third coronavirus lockdown.

The plans will prioritise a school return over reopening other parts of society, such as shops or pubs. But a “big bang” reopening in education is at odds with calls from teachers and school governors for more caution and the staggered approach adopted by other UK nations.

Mary Bousted, general secretary of the National Education Union, which represents teachers, said it was “inexplicable” that all schools were being reopened at once. The government closed schools after Christmas having being forced into a last-minute U-turn following the rapid spread of the virus over the holiday period.

“The worst thing that could happen is that we have this big bang return and two months later we have to close schools again,” she said.

“We’ve got 10m children and adults back into school buildings with inadequate social distancing and ventilation, without vaccination, when their parents are not in the vaccination groups . . . what has been put in place to stop schools becoming vectors of transmission?”

Nadhim Zahawi, vaccines minister, said schools and colleges across the country would be sent 50m lateral flow Covid-19 testing kits.

Scotland and Wales have opted for a phased return with early years in both countries returning on Monday. But the devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff do not plan any further returns before March 15 at the earliest even though coronavirus case numbers and deaths are substantially below those of England.

John Swinney, Scotland’s education secretary and deputy first minister, said on Monday that transmission rates were still at too high a level to provide enough “headroom” for a full return of the sort planned by the UK government for England on March 8.

“I wouldn’t be permitted to do that by the clinical advice available to me, and I take that deadly seriously,” Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland on Monday morning.

The NEU was one of nine education organisations that warned Johnson a full return of pupils on March 8 would be a “reckless course of action”.

In a letter on Friday, the coalition including headteachers’ unions, the National Governance Association and the GMB urged Johnson to commit only to a phased return, and only if the scientific justification was “absolutely clear”.

Reopening too hastily would be “counterproductive if there is a danger of causing another surge in the virus, and the potential for a further period of lockdown,” they said. “Wider opening must be safe and sustainable.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer, however, has signalled his support for the full reopening of schools, arguing that safety measures could be put in place to reduce the risk of outbreaks including temporary “Nightingale” classrooms. 

“I want all of our schools ideally opened by March 8,” he told LBC radio on Monday. “I have been worried about the impact that being out of school has had on children and it has been a real struggle.”

Additional reporting by Andy Bounds in Huddersfield