On the Friday night before a bank holiday weekend, the Government issued last minute advice and guidelines to schools due to open this week.
Commenting on the latest education guidance, Peter Shreeve, Assistant District Secretary of the National Education Union said,
“Government at last published detailed guidance on Friday night regarding schools containing and managing Covid-19 outbreaks at a school level.
“We have been asking for the detail for months, so that contingency plans can be made. We are pleased that it has been finally shared. We should be shocked at its eleventh-hour arrival, but we have become used to late night publications, last-minute edicts and a lack of available time to digest.
“Published around 7.30pm. on Friday night, at the start of a Bank Holiday weekend – just days before Island pupils go back to school. More frustrating in other parts of England, where they have already returned. Why couldn’t this guidance have been shared weeks or even days ago?
Nuanced advice
Mr Shreeve went on to say,
“There still remains some confusion and no time to clarify. BBC news reported that appropriate PHE advice could be: if a single student tests positive, a bubble (potentially hundreds in a secondary school and those staff who taught them) is sent home to self-isolate for 14 days and access remote learning. However later, this advice has nuanced.
“Any member of staff, who have helped someone with symptoms and any pupils who have been in ‘close contact’ do not need to go home unless that person subsequently test positive.
“Should we not err on the side of caution and self-isolate until they can be rapidly tested, if the desire is to limit transmission?”
Weekend reading for leadership teams
The union officer finished by saying,
“The new guidance for England said the measure is intended to reduce the number of people students are in contact with and limit transmission.
“Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the measures were ‘worst-case scenario’ contingency plans and that he hopes ‘we won’t have to implement the guidance set out’ on Friday night.
“We suspect, yet again, many school leaders will be have spent last weekend and the Bank Holiday digesting pages and pages of the latest new guidance, just in case a single pupil or staff member tests positive.”
