Time to get back to class: Row between teachers and unions explodes …

The row between teachers and unions over when and how to reopen our schools exploded last night.

In an extraordinary intervention, former education secretary David Blunkett accused the unions of ‘working against the interests of children’ by continuing to frustrate teachers who are desperate to get back into the classroom.

And current Education Secretary Gavin Williamson demanded unions do their ‘duty’ and stop their opposition.

Writing for the Daily Mail, he said children need to start returning to classrooms ‘in the interests of their welfare and education’.

Ministers have drawn up plans for a ‘phased’ return after the summer half-term, with some junior classes potentially going back from June 1. However, while most teachers have worked hard to help their pupils during the lockdown, education unions have told the Government to ‘step back’ from the plans – and urged their members not to co-operate.

In his article for the Mail today, Mr Williamson paid tribute to the skills of teachers, saying: ‘Parents are doing a fantastic job helping children learn at home, but nothing can take the place of a teacher.’

But he urged unions to do their ‘duty’ and drop their blanket objections to a June 1 return, saying: ‘All of us in education have a duty to work together to get children back to school.’

Former Labor education secretary David Blunkett accused teaching unions yesterday of ‘working against the interests of children’.

Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons education committee, said children from disadvantaged backgrounds faced a ‘potential decade of educational disadvantage’ unless schools went back soon. I added: ‘The unions have got to engage on this.’

The National Education Union (NEU), which has 450,000 members, has described the Government’s plans as ‘reckless’ and advised teachers to ‘not engage’ with the move.

The NASUWT, the UK’s second largest teachers ’union, last night threatened to sue school heads if teachers were‘ expected to go into a school that is not safe ’.

Ministers are concerned that if the unions sabotage a return to school, many of the most disadvantaged youngsters will lose out on vital education.

And there is an acceptance that many parents will be unable to return to work until schools are open again. Mr Williamson said extensive measures had been put in place for a secure return to school, adding: ‘Safety comes first.’

Union chiefs have been offered a briefing with the Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty this afternoon to reassure them the plans are safe for children, staff and parents.

Lord Blunkett said he was ‘deeply critical’ of the NEU’s approach, saying all sides had to ‘work together to get over fear as well as dealing with the genuine risk’.

He told BBC Radio Four’s Today program: ‘It is about how can we work together to make it work as safely – we can’t 100 per cent – as safely as possible. Anyone who works against that in my view is working against the interests of children. ’

Lord Blunkett said other workers, such as those in supermarkets, had accepted a level of risk in performing their jobs as he suggested teachers should do the same.

And he said the most disadvantaged pupils were being penalized, adding: ‘They will not have tutors to be able to recover, they will not have parents who had higher education, they will rely entirely on us getting back to normal as quickly as possible. ‘The back to school message came as:

• Liverpool’s Labor Major Joe Anderson said he was ready to ‘resist’ plans to reopen schools, saying the level of infection in the city was still too high;
• Ministers confirmed a new antibody test that can detect if someone has had a coronavirus in just 18 minutes will be rolled out in days;
• The Government agreed to £ 1.6billion bailout for Transport for London to keep services in the capital going;
• Diabetes was identified as a major risk factor after official figures showed that more than a quarter of those who have died from coronavirus also had the condition;
• The Office for Budget Responsibility warned that Britain’s budget deficit was on course to hit £ 300billion this year, with measures to prop up the economy costing £ 123billion;
• Britain’s official coronavirus death toll rose by 428 to 33,614.

Boris Johnson ordered the closure of schools on March 18, just days before the wider lockdown.

Many schools have remained open to look after vulnerable children and those of frontline ‘key’ workers. But in practice, most have only had tiny numbers attending.

Under the Government’s plans, children in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 could start to go back to school as early as June 1. Children will be placed in small classes and rigorous procedures are being put in place to limit spread of the virus.

Ministers hope to get all primary children back for a month before the summer holidays. Secondary pupils in Years 10 and 12, who have GCSE and A-level exams next year, will go back part time to allow for catch-up sessions with tutors.

Education sources said Mr Williamson was happy for his 15-year-old daughter, who is in Year 10, to go back to school.

Sir Anthony Seldon, former headmaster of Wellington College, said: ‘Teachers want to and need to be back in schools. As long as the scientists say they can, it is utterly wrong for unions to try to block and discourage teachers. ’

But union leaders yesterday insisted they had serious concerns about an early return to school.

Mary Bousted, joint general-secretary of the NEU, described the bid to reopen schools as ‘nothing short of reckless’.

And in a letter last night Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said it was putting schools ‘on notice’ that they faced potential legal action for ‘breach of duty of care and personal injury due to foreseeable risk’ if they asked teachers to go back to work too soon.

Gavin Williamson: For sake of all pupils, unions must do duty

By Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education, for the Daily Mail

Rarely do I find myself nodding along in agreement with past Labor ministers but when I heard former Labor education secretary David Blunkett on the radio this week saying why it’s important to get the most disadvantaged children back into schools as soon as we can, I thought he was making very good sense.

As Education Secretary, I pay attention when experts give me advice – I’d get into hot water very quickly if I didn’t. If, based on the latest scientific advice, we can get a limited number of children back to school, then I believe it’s my duty to do all I can to get them back there because being in school with a teacher is the best way to learn .

Of course safety comes first but we must also be aware of the potential damage to a child’s education from not getting them back in the classroom.

It is now over seven weeks since schools were restricted to all but a very small number of children and until the rate of infection from coronavirus starts to come down, we cannot bring more students back.

In that time I’ve been constantly talking to heads and teachers’ unions about how best to open schools in a phased and careful way. Later today I have arranged for union leaders to meet the Chief Medical Officer and other experts so they can be briefed on the scientific advice underpinning our approach.

The good news is that we are now past the peak of the virus. At the weekend the Prime Minister set out his roadmap for recovery and the second step of that plan is to start to get more children back into classrooms. Let me spell out why these proposals have put the interests of all our children first. The best place for youngsters to learn is in school and I have wanted to get more children back there as soon as possible. Parents are doing a fantastic job helping them to learn at home but nothing can take the place of a teacher.

It is known that the first few years of a child’s education are so important.

It is during this time that young students begin to develop essential social skills and start to learn the basics that will have a huge bearing on how well they do later in life.

That is why younger children are at the head of the queue to go back to school, along with pupils who will be moving up to secondary school and those older pupils who are going to be sitting their GCSEs and A Levels next year.

Now I want to be clear, this is the first phase of a controlled and careful return to school. It’s not happening overnight and it’s not going to happen without schools putting in place a range of protective measures to reduce transmission. The safety of children and their teachers is my No 1 priority.

I know some teaching unions still have concerns, just as I know parents and teachers have some worries.

I intend to carry on talking to all of them and working with them on any issues they may have.

All of us in education have a duty to work together to get children back to school.

Let me reassure families that we are giving schools all the guidance and support they will need to welcome pupils back.

This includes keeping class sizes small, making sure children stay within small groups, and being rigorous about hygiene, cleaning and staggering break and mealtimes. We’re also paying close attention to what they’re doing in other countries, such as Denmark, where despite some initial concerns, children are back and adapting, as they always seem to do.

Children thrive and grow in schools best when they’re enjoying being with their friends and teachers.

It is time to start bringing some of our children back in the interests of their welfare and education.

But this will be done carefully so it’s right for our children, right for your family and those who work in schools and right for our communities.

Teachers’ union threatens to SUE school chiefs if staff are put at risk by returning to classrooms too soon during coronavirus lockdown

By Josh White, Education reporter for the Daily Mail

Britain’s second-largest teaching union last night threatened to sue school chiefs if teachers are ‘put at risk’ in the classroom.

The NASUWT, which has 310,000 members, has written to heads, academy bosses and local authorities, outlining their stance.

Along with the National Education Union, the NASUWT has been at the forefront of efforts to delay the reopening of schools until September, but their objections have been described by critics as ‘political posturing’ and ‘scaremongering’.

Darren Northcott, the union’s national official for education, told 5Live on Wednesday: ‘There’s a real risk here that some schools will believe that they can safely open from June 1, when we are very clear that they can’t.’

The union last night ramped up its attempts to torpedo the plans by threatening court action against school bosses, trust chief executives, and local authorities who ignore ‘serious health, safety and welfare issues’ in the classroom ..

It came as the NEU also increased its pressure on ministers. The union said last night:

• Teachers should keep online tuition ‘to a minimum’;
• They should not do any online teaching that they feel uncomfortable about;
• Teachers are worried about the security of online teaching;
• And they should not be expected to carry out routine marking or grading of pupils’work

The NASUWT letter says the union is ‘left with no alternative but to put employers and the Government on notice, by reserving our members’ legal rights in the context of a tortious claim for breach of duty of care and personal injury due to foreseeable risk, and any other legal recourse available ‘.

‘The NASUWT is clear that no teacher should be expected to go into a school that is not safe, and until it can be demonstrated that it is safe to do so, we will be continuing to support and advise members on that basis.’

Signed by union general secretary Dr Patrick Roach, the letter concludes: ‘The NASUWT recognizes that schools and employers have been placed in a situation where the wrong decision will result in people becoming seriously ill and dying, and will therefore appreciate that there can be no commitment on health and safety.

‘If this means that schools are unable to open safely before September because they are unable to make arrangements to safeguard their staff and pupils, then that position must be accepted.’ Despite undermining ministers’ attempts to reopen the country’s schools, the NEU says teachers should keep online tuition ‘to a minimum’ is necessary because face-to-face teaching ‘cannot be easily replicated’. It also told members that ‘no teacher should be expected to carry out any online teaching with which they feel uncomfortable or in the absence of agreed protocols’.

It is understood some teachers have privacy concerns, and fear their lessons could be recorded or manipulated by pupils. But Professor Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the Independent Schools Council, said: ‘There are appropriate safeguarding policies in place and it is all going pretty well. So those pupils who are not receiving online teaching, simply because their teachers think it is risky, have every reason to feel very disappointed. ’

The NEU adds that teachers ‘should not be expected to carry out routine marking or grading’, saying: ‘To do so would be to disadvantage those who do not have the resources and support available at home to make that fair.’

For secondary school pupils, many of whom will be facing exams next year, the swingeing union restrictions state that teachers ‘should not be asked to personally contact their students daily’, except those who are vulnerable.

Neil Roskilly, of the Independent Schools Association, said the NEU’s fears about online learning were ‘theoretical’. I added: ‘There’s nothing unsurmountable for schools with good safeguarding policies. Schools are very used to dealing with safeguarding issues. ’

Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign For Real Education, said: ‘Many teachers are being courageous and still working but a minority are enjoying it.’

NEU joint general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said last night: ‘The NEU is not against online working. Our members are using online learning to support their pupils. Our guidance is to help them do this safely for themselves and for their pupils.

‘Arrangements for online learning must also protect teachers’ and children’s privacy and ensure children are kept safe while online. The NEU is supporting teachers and families to do the best they can with the resources available to them. ’

ANDREW PIERCE: The Corbynite lover of communist Cuba who says the first word she learned was ‘strike’

By Andrew Pierce for the Daily Mail

A clue as to the political philosophy of Dr Mary Bousted, the teachers ’union leader trying to sabotage next month’s return to school, can be found in her passion for communist Cuba.

The hard-Left joint general secretary of the National Education Union has authorized spending thousands of pounds of union money to send members on fact-finding trips to the one-party state.

The trips have understandably upset some members because of Cuba’s disregard for human rights. A motion from teachers in Lewisham at last year’s NEU annual conference demanded an end to their fees being spent on such jaunts.

The motion said: ‘Cuba is a police state with no free elections, free speech or free trade unions … The trade union movement is controlled by the state, and the leaders of the single union CTC are appointed by the state and the Communist Party. The right to strike is not legally recognized, and in practice it is denied… ’

There was no embarrassing defeat of the motion because it wasn’t called for debate – in October another NEU delegation is going back for a week-long visit.

It’s no surprise, therefore, to find that Bousted backed the last Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn – a man who hailed the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro on his death in 2016 as ‘heroic’.

A former president of the TUC, she became one of the most powerful female trade unionists when, in 2017, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers – which she had led for more than a decade – merged with the National Union of Teachers. The combined 450,000 membership makes it the biggest education union in Europe.

Last year, under her joint leadership, the new union demanded the repeal of all legislation designed to curb the past excesses of the trade unions. It passed a motion arguing that flying pickets should be allowed to demonstrate outside school gates and that the closed shop should return, with teachers who refused to join unions dismissed.

‘The Conservative laws have made solidarity strikes illegal and prevent unions taking political strike action,’ stated the motion. ‘These laws prevent us striking to defend the NHS… [and] the anti-union laws prevent effective picketing. ’

Bousted also backed the thousands of schoolchildren who skipped lessons several times last year to join the disruptive Extinction Rebellion environmental protests.

‘We stand in full solidarity with all students striking or protesting against climate change… [we] oppose any reprisals against students taking action to fight climate change, such as detentions, exclusions. The rights to strike and protest are fundamental democratic rights for students and workers alike, ‘she said.

When it comes to industrial action, Bousted has form. In 2011 she led the ATL union, which was founded in 1978, into its first national strike as part of coordinated action by unions against the coalition government’s plans to change public sector pensions.

‘We expect to be taken seriously and to have the political and industrial clout to make sure our voice is heard,’ she cried.

It’s hard not to hear her voice. During pension and pay negotiations, successive education secretaries held regular meetings with the bosses of the education unions. Perhaps thinking herself the smartest of them, Bousted seemingly did most of the talking whilst regularly picking fights with the minister.

‘What I think I am doing is just telling it how it is,’ she once said, revealing in her confrontational approach. ‘People think I am strident because they don’t like what I’m saying.’

There was at least one stand-up row with Michael Gove, who was education secretary in David Cameron’s coalition government. They clashed over Gove’s wish to restore traditional subjects in the classrooms.

An English teacher before she moved into teacher-training, Bousted said she objected to focusing too much on traditional subjects which require pupils to learn material by heart.

‘It’s outdated, and fails to equip children for life in the modern world,’ she said.

‘If a powerful knowledge curriculum means recreating the best that has been thought by dead, white men – then I’m not very interested in it.’ Bousted wanted less Shakespeare and more works from Caribbean, Indian and Chinese writers. Asked about her rocky relationship with Gove, she said: ‘There was a lot of shouting and finger-pointing.’

No fan of Tory education secretaries, she never had any time for Tony Blair’s government either – and opposed his drive towards academy schools. One senior Whitehall insider said that she picked fights for the sake of it. Bo Mary Bousted regards the Conservatives as her professional, political, and philosophical foe.

‘The latest posturing over the lockdown is entirely typical of her tactics.’

The insider added: ‘It’s all about the union, to hell with the teachers who want to get back in to the classroom – let alone the children. Bousted is typical of the breed of trade unionist who is a middle-class leftist.

‘For her, it was school, university, and teacher training, and two decades running a union.’ Bousted, 60, the second youngest of eight children, was brought up in Bolton in the 1960s. Her father was the headmaster of a local primary school; her mother, a die-hard Labour supporter, was also a teacher. She jokes that the word ‘strike’ was one of the first she learned as a child – after climbing onto her father’s knee she used to scan the headlines as he read The Manchester Guardian, his daily newspaper.

Given Mary Bousted’s determination to confront the Government, it is a word she will only too willingly put into action to try to get her way.