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Government plans for massive Covid testing of high school students after Christmas are in disarray after unions told members not to work on the plan over the holidays, calling it “inoperable” and “undeliverable. “.
A statement from the four major teacher unions and the National Governance Association advised staff to delay preparations until the start of the term on January 4-5 and to refuse to work on the plan over the Christmas break.
“In our opinion, due to the chaotic and rushed nature of this announcement, the lack of proper guidance, and the absence of adequate support, the government plan in its current form will be inoperative for most schools and universities,” said the release.
“Schools and universities just don’t have the staff capacity to do this on their own. As such, most will not be in a position to do this safely and effectively. “
The Royal Statistical Society said it had “great concerns” that the government’s plans could be unsafe because the tests were “imperfect and should be used with great care”, and asked ministers to “review them urgently.”
On Thursday, the Department of Education announced that the return of secondary school pupils in England would be delayed by a week and replaced by remote learning for most age groups, to allow schools to test all pupils using rapid tests. lateral flow.
High school and college students and pupils will be offered two rapid tests three days apart during the first week of the trimester, with positive results confirmed by a laboratory PCR test.
But the government’s plan generated controversy for lack of details and for being announced when schools closed for the Christmas holidays.
In a measure of the DfE’s desperation to complete its own work on the program, The Guardian learned that the department’s civil servants have been offered a £ 1,000 bonus if they volunteer to work over Christmas. The offer was announced by Susan Acland-Hood, permanent secretary of the DfE, to staff on Thursday.
DfE announcements have not included any additional pay for school personnel working during the vacation period. School leaders have already been told to remain on call until December 23 to track and trace students who tested positive for the virus at the end of the quarter.
Teachers and principals have told The Guardian about burnout at the end of “a year of hell.” “I know heads that have not stopped since March and it is not sustainable. At best, we work more than 50 hours a week. Now there are some teachers who are over 70, ”said one teacher, Matt David.
The council of the four major unions – the National Association of Teachers Principals (NAHT), the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the National Union of Education and the NASUWT – reflects deep-seated anger among teachers over the latest lawsuits. of the DfE, and its failure to publish more details until shortly before Christmas.
Paul Whiteman, the NAHT general secretary, said that while teachers supported the use of mass testing, there was not enough time to safely organize the assessment of hundreds of packed students in just a few days before Jan.4.
“Given the lack of a detailed guide or a coherent plan, we do not believe that schools or universities can start working on this before the start of the next term. We will fully support members who choose not to implement the plan if they deem it unfeasible in their schools, as government guidance allows, “Whiteman said, emphasizing that the DfE had called their plan an” offer. “
Geoff Barton, ASCL Secretary General, said: “It is not possible to recruit and train all the people needed to carry out the tests and put in place the processes that would be necessary, during the Christmas period, and it is extremely regrettable that the government has given to the public the expectation of this happening. “
Schools Minister Nick Gibb organized a one-hour briefing for MPs on short notice on Friday and was unable to allay their concerns about whether schools would receive the resources they need to carry out the program.
“It was just terrible,” said one person on the call. “What really angered people was that he said several times, ‘This is good news.’
The Royal Statistical Society said it had concerns about the scientific basis and security of the government’s plans for testing in schools, and about “inaccuracies and omissions in the information provided to schools” by the DfE, noting that the Trials in Liverpool found that tests failed more than half of positive cases, including 30% of those with high viral loads.
“In the new testing program for schools, people who have been exposed and have received a negative result will still have a significant risk of having the Covid-19 infection and spreading it to others,” he said.
Anger over the delay in the government announcement was also shared by the school governors, whose national representatives were puzzled by Gibb’s suggestions that they volunteer.
Sam Henson from the National Governance Association said: “Today we have heard from many members who are simply angry. Some say they would support their communities, of course, and do what they can, but others feel it is totally inappropriate. There seems to be an assumption that schools only have this volunteer bank, which is not true. “
A chairman of the governors tweeted: “There is no possibility of any of us volunteering for this. We are vigilant, we do not intervene and, of course, we do not have the capacity to help the government. I have some time during the day, but this crosses a line. “
Kate Green, the parallel education secretary, said: “We have been asking for massive testing for months, it is a very important thing to do, but the implementation, which came out in the most half-baked way in the week before Christmas, when the leaders and the school staff are exhausted, it’s really unsatisfactory. “
