Government urged to delay school return amid rising Covid cases
Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen
Teachers and union bosses have called on the government to delay pupils' return to school amid a rising surge of coronavirus cases in the UK.
Armed forces are set to be drafted in the support mass Covid-19 testing of school students in England next month, with the government pushing forward with its plan to get kids back to school.
The Ministry of Defence said 1,500 military personnel would be deployed to ensure testing systems were up and running by the time pupils returned to school in January.
Along with mass testing, a staggered return for different school years has been planned to secondary school pupils.
Kate Green, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, has called on Gavin Williamson to make a statement to Parliament on Wednesday amid criticism of the plans.
Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen on whether schools will reopen on time
Ms Green said: "Coronavirus rates are rising, and parents, staff and pupils are crying out for clarity about the start of term next week.
"Silence from government is not an option. The education secretary must come to parliament tomorrow, set out a plan for schools and colleges, and provide desperately needed leadership. He must also urgently publish the SAGE advice on schools."
Teaching leaders have voiced criticism of the plans too.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said: “Eminent scientists have said that schools should remain closed; that’s what unions I think have been responding to.”
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he said: “None of this is to create problems because we know those tests are going to help more young people to keep from being disrupted – it’s a really good idea.”
Mr Barton welcomed the government’s plans for soldiers to offer remote support for testing, but warned it was unlikely to be enough.
“We’re educationists, we can support the Government and it is good we are going to have some members of the Army,” he said.
“But for 3,500 secondary schools, 1,500 troops doing webinars probably isn’t the Government response that we were looking for.”
Union chief Geoff Barton questions decision to reopen schools in January
One head teacher said the mass testing plans had lead to a lot of “stress and panic” for teachers over Christmas.
Nicola Mason, head of Chase Terrace Academy in Burntwood, Staffordshire, told BBC Breakfast: “Things have just come through to schools very late and it has certainly lead to a lot of stress and a lot of panic over the Christmas holidays to try and get people recruited.”
Ms Mason said her school had some community volunteers to help them carry out the testing programme “but we’ve still got nowhere near enough”.
She said schools were getting information too late to manage remote working properly, adding that the teachers at her school had been working most of the holidays.
“We will be ready to start the testing but whether we will be ready to roll out a testing programme that will test 1,350 students three days apart and a weekly programme for staff, I’m not sure we will be able to do all of that in the four days that we’ve got before children come back,” she said.
In a statement, the MoD said schools and colleges would shortly be provided with further information on how to request additional support if necessary.
The decision follows successful testing pilots conducted in schools in November and December and the work is being done in conjunction with the Department for Education (DfE) and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The UK armed forces are stepping up once again this holiday.
“They’ll share considerable experience of testing across the country and the successful school pilots conducted this autumn.
“We are grateful for the professionalism and commitment they and our colleagues in teaching are showing to get students back into the classroom and on with their education.”
The majority of the personnel will form local response teams, providing support and phone advice to institutions needing guidance on the testing process and set-up of the testing facilities.
Students will swab themselves in the vast majority of cases, under the supervision of a school staff member or volunteer who has been trained for the role, and teachers are not expected to take a role in the testing process.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “It is a true cross-government effort to make sure secondary schools and colleges have the support, guidance, materials and funding they need to offer rapid testing to their staff and students from the start of term.
“I am grateful to the armed forces personnel, and all the school and college staff, leaders and volunteers working to put testing in place.
“This will help break chains of transmission, fight the virus, and help deliver the national priority of keeping education open for all.”