UK unions call for tougher Covid safety measures in schools as cases rise | Schools

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Unions have called on the government to stop sitting idle and restore school safety measures to prevent further disruption to education this winter as the Covid rate rises among teens.

The spread of the virus appears to significantly outstrip the government’s vaccination schedule, with one in 14 secondary school-aged children in England infected with Covid last week, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics, compared to about one student about 20 the the previous week.

Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), warned that the rapid spread of the virus among children aged 7 to 11 could mean children gain herd immunity through infection rather than vaccination.

Semple told BBC Radio 4s Today: This is not a good way to get collective immunity. Commentators would generally say that it is ludicrous to aim for herd immunity using natural wild-type infection, as it leads to disease and harm to children from both acute illness and potentially long Covid.

Five unions have written to Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, asking him to consider stepping up safety measures in schools. Kevin Courtney, Deputy Secretary General of the National Education Union (NEU), said: We are concerned that the government remains inactive while cases of Covid escalate in schools.

It is obvious that more needs to be done, and as soon as possible, to avoid further massive disruption in children’s education, caused either by children contracting Covid-19 or by staff absences linked to Covid.

Avril Chambers, national GMB official, said the increase in cases showed that additional mitigation measures are needed immediately if further disruptions to schooling are to be avoided, while Unites national education official Jim Kennedy said the approaching winter was forcing Zahawi to reset the school safety program. .

The teachers’ union NASUWT has stressed the importance of on-site testing rather than relying on home testing, which is less effective. He also urged the government to consider reintroducing self-isolation for students who are contacts of a positive case.

Professor Kevin McConway, professor emeritus of applied statistics at the Open University, described the increase in cases among school-aged children as worrying. Whichever way you look at it, this is a huge increase, and it is clearly a result of the reopening of schools and, most importantly, the vaccination rate of children in this still low age group.

Less than one in 10 (9%) in the age group, which has the highest positivity rate of all cohorts, had been vaccinated last Sunday within weeks of the midterm goal set by the government.

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