National Education Union asks Boris Johnson why UK is not following example of other countries

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

The National Education Union – the largest of its kind in Europe – has written to the prime minister calling on him to clarify why he has not closed schools as part of the UK’s coronavirus strategy.

The letter underlines staff concerns about UK policy, which has been criticised for being out of step with other nations’ responses to the pandemic.

The NEU’s joint general secretaries, Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, wrote: “Every day we are getting increasing numbers of questions from teachers and support staff asking why the Westminster government isn’t following the pattern of other countries in calling for periods of school closure.

“Those questions are increasingly asking why schools aren’t closing if mass gatherings are to be suspended.

“We all want to limit and delay the spread of the coronavirus and we do think medical advice and expert scientific advice is important in this regard.

“But it is clear that such advice can have uncertainties; and that it could be crafted to target a variety of measures.”

The letter goes on to propose that parents and schools could work together to find solutions to problems such as NHS staff shortages that would occur as school closures increase childcare needs.

“Teachers and other staff would work to help a broader societal response to mitigate the effects of the virus. We know this is especially important in a country where public services and the NHS in particular have been run down for so long,” it says.

The letter comes as the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) urged the government to cancel Ofsted inspections immediately in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

The ASCL’s general secretary, Geoff Barton, asked the government to suspend all inspections with the exception of establishments with safeguarding concerns.

The ASCL will meet the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, to discuss the issue on Monday.

Barton said: “At this time of national emergency, schools and colleges are devoting all of their time and all of their energies and all of their resources to keeping calm, to carrying on.

“They are preparing contingency plans in the event of closures. This is not a time for business as usual. It’s not a time for business as usual for Ofsted.

“We acknowledge that Ofsted has taken a step in the right direction by accepting that the current situation may be a reason for an inspection to be deferred [but] it simply cannot be right that schools and colleges are judged in a high-stakes manner in these extraordinary circumstances at all.”

Barton’s comments follow a tweet by Ofsted which said it was “operating business as usual”, but “would consider the challenges caused the outbreak.

The watchdog then apologised when it was raised that in its updated guidance its deferral policy referred to whether inspectors would visit “in the case of illness or death of the headteacher”.

Ofsted said the passage had been in the guidance since 2016, and had since been removed. Its corporate strategy director, Chris Jones, apologised for any distress caused and said that “in situations like this, inspections aren’t important”.

“We are working with the government on how we should react, advising them where necessary. Things are moving fast,” he said.

Closing schools for four weeks could cut 3% from the UK’s GDP, according to government advisers.