The Isle of Wight Green Party support the calls from the National Education Union to take urgent measures to reduce the transmission of the Covid-19 virus.
Vix Lowthion, the new chair of Isle of Wight Green Party and a parent and secondary school teacher in Newport said,
“The Isle of Wight Green Party support the calls from the scientific and medical community, and now the teaching unions, to take the necessary measures to protect our NHS and save lives.
“No one wants to see the closure of schools, but inexplicably the government have failed to take the essential steps to ensure that our schools are safe and secure.”
She added,
“There is no social distancing in our schools, no masks, no reduced class sizes, no testing and no vaccines for the vulnerable.
“It is this failure of government to support basic effective safety measures since the summer which has led to teachers now having to take responsible action.”
Lowthion: Many months have been wasted
Ms Lowthion went on to add,
“The Green Party have been clear for many weeks that no lockdown will be effective without schools, nurseries and colleges being included. And now many months have been wasted, which could have been spent planning for distance learning through providing laptops and connectivity to the most disadvantaged families.
“The Isle of Wight Council must acknowledge that to reduce transmission of the virus our schools must remain closed to all but the most vulnerable and the children of keyworkers, and they should ensure that every Island child has access to learning for the coming weeks with great urgency.
“It is not the children, or the parents, or the teachers who are the obstacle to learning, but the virus and the absolute failure of the UK government to manage this pandemic effectively.”
News shared by Vix on behalf of the Isle of Wight Green Party, in her own words. Ed
