- 3 WELSH EDUCATION UNIONS ISSUE SWIFT RESPONSES AGAINST EDUCATION MINISTER KIRSTY WILLIAMS’ ANNOUNCEMENT THAT SCHOOLS WILL REOPEN TO ALL AGES AT THE END OF JUNE
- LACK OF CONSULTATION ANGERS UNIONS AND MARKS CHANGE OF APPROACH BY WELSH GOVERNMENT
- PARENTS AND WORKERS FEAR PLANS WILL PUT CHILDREN, TEACHERS AND VULNERABLE FAMILY MEMBERS AT RISK, AND INCREASE THE CHANCES OF A RESURGENCE OF COVID-19.Report
Unions representing school workers in Wales have come out in opposition against plans to reopen schools in Wales for all ages this month, with one saying it is “too much, too soon.”
In response to Education Ministers Kirsty Williams’ statement on Schools today, saying they will reopen from 29th June, Wales Secretary of the NEU, David Evans said the proposal “does not sit well with NEU Cymru” and pointed to a number of safety fears.
“In the larger secondary schools,” he said, it would mean “hundreds of pupils on site with all the logistical difficulties that will bring in respect of social distancing, cleaning of premises, travel implications, availability of PPE and threats of transmission of the virus.”
UNISON, representing the majority of non teaching school staff, said they were ‘frustrated and extremely concerned” that antibody testing plans appeared to miss out support staff. “This approach will not work and will risk the spread of Covid-19….We call on the Welsh Government to revisit their plans,” Schools lead Rosie Lewis said.
Unions said they had received little or no consultation about the decision, which marks a significant easing of lock-down measures in spite of the infection rate remaining dangerously high.
“We are shocked that the government has ignored the unions’ opinion that Years 6, 10 and 12 should have taken priority if schools were to reopen before the summer,” said UCAC general secretary Dilwyn Roberts-Young.
Failure to consult unions over such a major aspect of the Covid crisis would represent a real shift in approach from Welsh Government, away from working with trade unions which it has previously pointed to as an example of how it was handling Covid better than the Tories.
Increasing operations for all age groups would have “significant implications for staff,” especially those who are at risk, David Evans of the NEU said. “There will be members who live with family who fall into that category and cannot be exposed to risk.”
Already many parents online are saying that they won’t send their children back until September or until it is clearly safe to do so. Welsh Government has said parents will not be fined if they chose not to send pupils into schools.
The NEU has also warned about the dangers of triggering a resurgence of the virus if lockdown is lifted too early, leading to more deaths and huge risks to frontline workers. Last Friday the First Minister said that the R rate in Wales has not decreased in the last 3 or 4 weeks. It currently stands at 0.8, meaning any fluctuation upwards could have serious repercussions.
A third union, NASUWT, has also criticised the plans. “There is clearly no educational purpose behind this decision. These are not good enough reasons for risking lives,” said national official for Wales Neil Butler.
Boris Johnson went ahead with plans to re-open schools on Monday in England, provoking a furious backlash from unions and parents. Thousands of schools simply did not open this week due to the widespread opposition to the Tory’s plans.
Speaking to voice.wales recently, Mairead Canavan a representative from NEU Cymru and a teacher in Penarth, said there was a real danger of reopening schools. “If lockdown is lifted too early that will put vulnerable children, staff and parents at risk,” she told us.
Already opposition to Welsh Government plans has begun in a similar fashion to the large scale resistance in England. People’s Assembly Wales, who’s twin group in England have held huge online meetings with union leaders, schools workers and parents, set up a Facebook group to co-ordinate opposition and released a statement immediately after Kirsty Williams made the announcement.
“We fully support the reservations of the teacher’s unions,” it said, adding that no school should reopen until an effective system of testing, tracking and isolation is in place.
“Given the chaotic crumbling of the lockdown encouraged by the Tory government there is a real danger of a second wave of infections and opening the schools could add to this,” the statement read.
“Instead of continuing to follow the UK government strategy the Welsh Government has to break with it completely to save lives…Teachers and other school staff, trade unions, parents and our wider communities now have just over three weeks to campaign for the Welsh Government to reverse this decision.”
