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Safety first
PM’s vague message on face masks in schools… ‘Probably sensible’
THE union has firmed up its own safety recommendations following “unclear” advice from the Department for Education (DfE).
The NEU has published a ten-point guide on its website clarifying its position on face masks and PPE.
During a visit to a Leicestershire school on 25 August, the Prime Minister said it was “probably” sensible for secondary school students to wear face coverings in confined areas such as school corridors.
But Joseph Wyglendacz, NEU district secretary for the City of Leicester, said educators wanted clarity from the Government: “Leadership teams are pulling their hair out to try and get something together so they can ensure it’s as safe as possible for children to return. We have seen examples in Scotland where there is a clear, definitive message, a mandatory position on face masks. How is it so fundamentally different [in England]?”
When Desmond Swayne MP said face masks were “undemocratic” and “make you look like Darth Vader”, the union’s joint general secretary, Kevin Courtney, responded by saying a serious approach was needed.
“It’s right to have seat belts in cars and to make people wear them… and if the science says that mask wearing will prevent the spread of the virus, prevent the cases going up and prevent more unnecessary deaths, it’s absolutely right for Government to say that you should wear them,” he told Channel 4 News.
In its advice, the union says it does not
More than 400 officers and 2,000 reps joined online national NEU meetings to discuss safety plans in the week before schools and colleges reopened. Reps will continue to have discussions with school management about safety. neu.org.uk/coronavirus-reps
agree with the DfE approach to face coverings and that the mandatory approach taken in Scotland and Northern Ireland should be adopted. In Wales the advice is discretionary.
“The NEU believes that, while the current DfE advice remains in place, any students or members of staff who choose to wear a face covering for purposes of personal or collective reassurance should be permitted to do so,” it says.
The union also disagrees with the advice on PPE and says the DfE has failed to fully understand the risks of staff working in close personal contact with pupils with special needs.
“The NEU therefore advises that staff working in such circumstances should be provided with PPE,” it says. Visit neu.org.uk/face-masks-ppe
ILLUSTRATION by Tim Sanders
Blended timetable to tackle Covid
COLLEGE leaders in some areas have drawn up blended learning timetables that mean students attend one day a week and learn from home the rest of the time, according to the vice-chair of the NEU Leadership Council.
Josie Whiteley, who has worked in further education colleges for more than 20 years, said generally schools and colleges have taken a different approach to reopening this term.
“Colleges’ starting point seems to be a lockdown timetable, giving the pandemic a real opportunity to disappear,” said Josie.
“As leaders we can challenge the rush back to normal. We’ve got the strength of the NEU and its half a million members behind us.”
New NEU president and secondary head teacher Robin Bevan (see page 19) said: “We need a safe, appropriate and well-planned bridge to getting back to normal.
“It all speaks of a decade in which schools and colleges have been consistently underfunded. Our schools are the most overcrowded buildings used for education in western Europe. The NEU must continue to demand education that is fully funded.”
