York MP claims chaos and confusion continues as schools return
Rachael Maskell issues statement over schools reopening
The majority of primary schools in England - including in York and North Yorkshire - will reopen this morning, despite concerns about rising Covid-19 infection rates.
Many local councils across the country and teaching unions have called for classrooms to remain shut for the next two weeks to curb the spread of the virus.
But yesterday (Sunday, 3 January) Boris Johnson said education was the priority, and he has "no doubt" schools will be safe.
However, primary schools in London have been told to remain closed until 18 January but remain open as usual across the rest of the country.
However, there are claims the different approaches across England is confusing, according to MPs.
Rachael Maskell MP says:
“The chaos and confusion from Government is tantamount to the education system in meltdown. As schools broke up, they were being required to spend the Christmas period putting testing procedures in place for the start of term.
"Teachers and school leaders have barely had a break since the start of the pandemic, and now even more pressure is being piled on them as Government guidance is changing by the hour.
"Parents and pupils do not know where they stand, are deeply concerned about both the pandemic and their educational opportunities, and none trust if the latest iteration of Government guidance, is written in the best interests of controlling Covid19, or responding to the chaos created with Covid19 being out of control.
“Of course we want all pupils to be able to attend school, however without a properly planned strategy, it is proving impossible for schools to know how to act in the best interests of their communities. The inconsistency in advice is not making sense when infection rates are rising sharply in many places across the country, including York, yet just primary schools in London are not re-opening.
"We know that the new variant of Covid19 presents significantly more risk of transmission, and it is know that children and young people are not immune from infection or transmitting the infection, although are more likely to be asymptomatic than higher age groups.
“With the NHS becoming overwhelmed and the number of people with the virus sharply rising, we don’t need more guidance, we need a comprehensive plan. This would go a long way to support schools but also the wider community, protecting children, parents and grandparents alike.
“I have been consistently asking Government how end of year assessments can be made fair, as some pupils have missed significant amounts of their education over the last year and I have been calling for the National Tutoring Programme, which remains in disarray, for its funds to be transferred to local authorities. I have heard from literally hundreds of pupils, parents and teaching and support staff in York who desperately want to do the right thing, but are losing confidence in the Government’s guidance as to what is right.
“It is indefensible, the way that the Government is handling this crisis and I will support all pupils, parents, teachers, support staff and school leaders to ensure that the health and wellbeing of the whole school community is put first, both from this pandemic and the mental health of all those impacted. From this point on we need a clear comprehensive plan, we need decisions to be taken in advance so that staff and families can plan, and we need to ensure that all proposals have the confidence of all those it impacts, including those who are called upon to implement the plan.
Rachael Maskell MP will be meeting with the local National Education Union to discuss their call for all Primary Schools to be closed to pupils except those in need of additional support or children of essential key workers.
She understands the impact that this chaos is having on parents, pupils and the school community, however this need not have been the case, since SAGE advised Ministers to close schools before the school Christmas holidays, while also recognising the risk is higher in secondary schools.
Ms Maskell believes that we have to now act in the safest interests of the whole community, and has further asked if the country is heading into a full strict lockdown, and if the economic support will be provided to support this.