Reckless to Reopen Schools Before it's Safe
Letter to Guardian published 28.05.20, signed by Jeremy Corbyn and others
The government’s decision to push ahead with reopening schools on 1 June is reckless and dangerous. Britain still has the highest death toll in Europe. The National Education Union, whose members are being asked to work in schools, has rightly raised the question of five tests before schools reopen. These should be met before any return to schools – and other workplaces – is considered.
Some local councils have said that schools will not be ready to open on 1 June (PM accepts some English primary schools may not return on 1 June, 24 May). Others should follow suit and say schools won’t open until the five tests are met. Parents have rightly organised meetings up and down the country against the reopening of schools. Most workers would have to use public transport to return to work, and it is clear this cannot be operated safely on a mass scale at present. As of 25 May, 43 transport workers have died from coronavirus in London alone. There are already far too many workers engaged in non-essential production, such as on most building sites, who should not be working.
We reject the government’s attempts to use economic hardship – for example, the winding down of the furlough scheme – to force people into unsafe work. We have seen nothing that suggests that the government will ensure safe working. We therefore call on the trade union movement to support school staff and other workers who are concerned about a return to unsafe schools and other workplaces on 1 June or beyond. No one should be forced to return to an unsafe workplace – and we support them if they refuse to do so.
Jeremy Corbyn MP for Islington North, Nadia Whittome MP for Nottingham East, Sarah Woolley General secretary, Bakers Food and Allied Workers, Jane Loftus vice-president, Communication Workers Union, Karen Reissmann People Before Profit: Health Worker Covid Activists group and NHS nurse
The National Education Union’s five tests
Our five tests
We want to begin to reopen schools and colleges as soon as we can. But this needs to be safe for society, for children and their families and the staff who work in them.
We have these five tests which the Government should show will be met by reliable evidence, peer-reviewed science and transparent decision-making.
Test 1 : Much lower numbers of Covid-19 cases
The new case count must be much lower than it is now, with a sustained downward trend and confidence that new cases are known and counted promptly. And the Government must have extensive arrangements for testing and contact tracing to keep it that way.
Test 2 : A national plan for social distancing
The Government must have a national plan including parameters for both appropriate physical distancing and levels of social mixing in schools, as well as for appropriate PPE, which will be locally negotiated at school-by-school and local authority level.
Test 3 : Testing, testing, testing!
Comprehensive access to regular testing for children and staff to ensure our schools and colleges don’t become hot spots for Covid-19.
Test 4 : Whole school strategy
Protocols to be put in place to test a whole school or college when a case occurs and for isolation to be strictly followed.
Test 5 : Protection for the vulnerable
Vulnerable staff, and staff who live with vulnerable people, must work from home, fulfilling their professional duties to the extent that is possible. Plans must be specifically address the protection of vulnerable parents, grandparents and carers.
Parentkind support statement:
Parentkind fully supports over 250,000 – strong petition by the NEU asking that schools should only be open when it is safe to do so. We believe that the 5 tests set by the NEU provide a clear framework for making this decision.
As an organisation Parentkind are opposed to the reopening of schools without clear criteria about how this decision will be taken and clarity about the validity of the evidence base that will underpin it. Only when school leaders, the Government, and parents are in agreement that it is time for schools to re-open should that happen.
Many parents may for valid reasons take the view that despite a decision to re-open schools they do not regard it as safe for their children or their family for them to return to school. Parentkind would like an assurance from the Government that parents not returning their children to school as a result of their safety concerns will not have these absences labelled unauthorised or face financial penalty.
