A schools' union boss has accused the government of being 'irresponsible' to suggest some primary school children could return to classrooms from June 1.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, told Sky News that Boris Johnson's proposal to begin a phased return to schools from next month 'at the earliest' is 'reckless'.
In an address last night, the prime minister said pupils in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 would be the first to go back to classrooms as part of a staged process.
Nurseries would also be included in the initial phase and the hope is that all primary school children would return to classrooms by the summer.
'At the earliest by June 1, after half term, we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages,' he said.
Mr Johnson added these were the 'first careful steps' and the timeline for reopening schools could be delayed if necessary.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said Boris Johnson's plan to begin a phased return to schools from next month 'at the earliest' is 'reckless'
NEU boss Mr Courtney criticised these proposals this morning, asking how teachers could possibly adhere to social distancing measures in classes of 30 or more pupils.
He added that the union has set 'five sensible tests' they believe 'need to be in place' in order for schools to reopen, including a low case count and plans for social distancing in schools.
'We want lockdown to end, we want that to happen as soon as it safely can and we are not being irresponsible,' he said. 'We've said the case count in the country needs to be down low enough so that contact tracing can take over some of the work of social isolation but the case count is nowhere near those sorts of levels.
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'We've said our second test is they need to have a plan for social distancing in schools - they've come up with nothing on that. This suggestion that reception, Year 1 and [Year 6] go back in 700 schools in the country, the infant schools, that's the big majority of children in those schools.
'How can you possibly do social distancing when the majority of children in classes of 30 or more are back in the school, it makes no sense.'
Mr Courtney added that testing should be available for both students and teachers, alongside plans for what schools should do if a pupil or faculty member falls ill with coronavirus.
The PM (pictured on Sunday night) said pupils in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 will be the first to go back from the start of the month during the staged process
Nurseries would also be covered in the initial phase and the hope is that all primary school children would return to classrooms by the summer
'We've said they need a plan for if there's a case in the school, what do you then do?' he added. 'Do you close the whole class down? Do you close the whole school down?
'We've been given no science on that. How can we be planning now when they haven't given us any of those things.'
The NEU general secretary added the union had surveyed their members following the PM's address last night, and within an hour 49,000 teachers had responded with the 'vast, vast majority of them saying they think it is unsafe' to return to schools in June.
'It's reckless, it's irresponsible. Mary [Bousted] and I wrote to the government on May 1 asking them to talk with us before making any announcement, 슬롯사이트 to get the science out there where people can see it, peer reviewed, about whether this would be safe or not,' he said.
'They've just ignored that. They've ignored three letters that we've sent them about the science. We've published a report about those questions recently. They made this announcement last night with no consultation with heads or with teachers before making the announcement, it's caused great consternation.'
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: 'We think that the announcement by the Government that schools may reopen from June 1 with reception and years one and six is nothing short of reckless'
Secondary school students who have exams next year will likely be given time with teachers before the summer holidays but most will not be back until September
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, last night slammed Mr Johnson's proposal as 'nothing short of reckless.'
She said: 'In China, children stand outside the school gates and are sprayed front and back with disinfectant, their shoes are sprayed, they wash their hands with sanitiser, they must take off their mask and replace it with a new one, and their temperature is taken remotely.'
She told The Times similar measures should be introduced in Britain, adding: 'They're doing that in South Korea and they have a minuscule number of new cases.'
Mr Johnson's plans would see children in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 return to schools from June 1 as part of a staged process.
He added there was an 'ambition' that secondary school students who have exams next year will be given time with teachers before the summer holidays, but most will not be back until September.
'If we can't do it by those dates, and if the alert level won't allow it, we will simply wait and go on until we have got it right,' Mr Johnson said. 'If there are problems we will not
School union bosses hit out at Boris Johnson's 'irresponsible' plan
by Valorie Verdin (2024-04-22)
A schools' union boss has accused the government of being 'irresponsible' to suggest some primary school children could return to classrooms from June 1.Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, told Sky News that Boris Johnson's proposal to begin a phased return to schools from next month 'at the earliest' is 'reckless'.
In an address last night, the prime minister said pupils in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 would be the first to go back to classrooms as part of a staged process.
Nurseries would also be included in the initial phase and the hope is that all primary school children would return to classrooms by the summer.
'At the earliest by June 1, after half term, we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages,' he said.
Mr Johnson added these were the 'first careful steps' and the timeline for reopening schools could be delayed if necessary.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said Boris Johnson's plan to begin a phased return to schools from next month 'at the earliest' is 'reckless'
NEU boss Mr Courtney criticised these proposals this morning, asking how teachers could possibly adhere to social distancing measures in classes of 30 or more pupils.
He added that the union has set 'five sensible tests' they believe 'need to be in place' in order for schools to reopen, including a low case count and plans for social distancing in schools.
'We want lockdown to end, we want that to happen as soon as it safely can and we are not being irresponsible,' he said. 'We've said the case count in the country needs to be down low enough so that contact tracing can take over some of the work of social isolation but the case count is nowhere near those sorts of levels.
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
Next
Boris Johnson's back-to-work speech descends into chaos as... Nicola Sturgeon BANS Boris Johnson's Stay Alert slogan in...
Share this article
Share
'We've said our second test is they need to have a plan for social distancing in schools - they've come up with nothing on that. This suggestion that reception, Year 1 and [Year 6] go back in 700 schools in the country, the infant schools, that's the big majority of children in those schools.
'How can you possibly do social distancing when the majority of children in classes of 30 or more are back in the school, it makes no sense.'
Mr Courtney added that testing should be available for both students and teachers, alongside plans for what schools should do if a pupil or faculty member falls ill with coronavirus.
The PM (pictured on Sunday night) said pupils in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 will be the first to go back from the start of the month during the staged process
Nurseries would also be covered in the initial phase and the hope is that all primary school children would return to classrooms by the summer
'We've said they need a plan for if there's a case in the school, what do you then do?' he added. 'Do you close the whole class down? Do you close the whole school down?
'We've been given no science on that. How can we be planning now when they haven't given us any of those things.'
The NEU general secretary added the union had surveyed their members following the PM's address last night, and within an hour 49,000 teachers had responded with the 'vast, vast majority of them saying they think it is unsafe' to return to schools in June.
'It's reckless, it's irresponsible. Mary [Bousted] and I wrote to the government on May 1 asking them to talk with us before making any announcement, 슬롯사이트 to get the science out there where people can see it, peer reviewed, about whether this would be safe or not,' he said.
'They've just ignored that. They've ignored three letters that we've sent them about the science. We've published a report about those questions recently. They made this announcement last night with no consultation with heads or with teachers before making the announcement, it's caused great consternation.'
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: 'We think that the announcement by the Government that schools may reopen from June 1 with reception and years one and six is nothing short of reckless'
Secondary school students who have exams next year will likely be given time with teachers before the summer holidays but most will not be back until September
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, last night slammed Mr Johnson's proposal as 'nothing short of reckless.'
She said: 'In China, children stand outside the school gates and are sprayed front and back with disinfectant, their shoes are sprayed, they wash their hands with sanitiser, they must take off their mask and replace it with a new one, and their temperature is taken remotely.'
She told The Times similar measures should be introduced in Britain, adding: 'They're doing that in South Korea and they have a minuscule number of new cases.'
Mr Johnson's plans would see children in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 return to schools from June 1 as part of a staged process.
He added there was an 'ambition' that secondary school students who have exams next year will be given time with teachers before the summer holidays, but most will not be back until September.
'If we can't do it by those dates, and if the alert level won't allow it, we will simply wait and go on until we have got it right,' Mr Johnson said. 'If there are problems we will not