A Tory MP has accused union leaders of causing “sheer damage” to the teaching profession by portraying schools as “death traps” to parents through their response to reopening schools in England.
Addressing bosses of education unions, Conservative Jonathan Gullis, a former teacher, said their actions in warning against rushing to open schools more widely were “utterly disgraceful”.
It came after Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said schools would not be able to fully reopen in September if social distancing rules remain in place.
Speaking at a virtual Education Select Committee, Gullis, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, asked: “Why is it that every time I see a teaching union on TV they’re saying ‘schools aren’t safe to open, schools aren’t safe to open’?
“A campaign has been run, whether you like or not, to breathe fear into parents about the idea of sending their kids back to school. It has come across to parents that these schools are death traps and that is just not the case and there are thousands of children not getting an education.”
Tom Hunt, Tory MP for Ipswich, added: “The perception that many people have in this country, whether rightly or wrongly, and it is a reality, sadly, that many people feel as though some of the teaching unions have actively obstructed the reopening of schools ahead of September.”
Addressing education unions, Robert Halfon, chair of the committee, added: “Why is it that children and parents can have access to Primark over the next few months, but many of them won’t have access to schools according to your risk assessments?”
Union leaders told MPs that they wanted children back in school as soon as possible, but they raised concerns about schools leaders’ ability to do so in the autumn term under the current social distancing rules.
Addressing the committee, Dr Bousted said: “The problem we have in England in particular is that we have some of the highest pupil-teacher ratios.
“We’ve got more pupils in classes and the footprint on the classes is smaller so if you’re going to continue with social distancing, it puts the pressure on the school site to be very great.”
When asked whether schools will be able to open fully in September under current restrictions, Dr Bousted told MPs: “If the government retains its social distancing rules then they can’t.
“So that’s why we then need to look at an education recovery plan, which is focused on more than school buildings.”
Dr Mary Bousted from @NEUnion responds to @halfon4harlowMP that if social distancing is still in place in September then we need a plan about increasing the physical footprint of schools, increasing the number of teachers, and blended learning.
— Education Committee (@CommonsEd) June 17, 2020
On reopening more widely in the autumn, Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “If it is at all possible and considered safe then absolutely we want all children to be back in school from September.
“But we’re not able to do that at the moment within the government’s own protective measures guidance. The maths just doesn’t work.
“If you can only have up to 15 children in a class and you’re bringing back all children, you need twice as many classrooms and you need twice as many teachers.”
McCulloch added that the best outcome – if the science says that this is safe and appropriate – would be to have all children back with “some of those measures relaxed” in September.
