NAHT Cymru comments on Covid briefing made by Welsh Education Minister today

Laura Doel, NAHT Cymru Director said: “NAHT Cymru is deeply disappointed that the announcement today by the Education Minister Jeremy Miles did not include a review of the schools framework.

“When there have been 10,000 covid cases in schools in September alone; when studies show that 1 in 7 children who get covid will develop long covid; when schools are struggling to stay open and even when they can, they are doing so with school leaders, TAs and supply teachers taking classes to combat the high levels of staff absence, how bad does the situation need to get before he considers reviewing the framework?

“The Minister acknowledged last week that the TTP system is facing significant pressures.  When the schools framework is predicated on a functioning TTP process, how can the government come to the conclusion that the framework is sufficient?

“The education workforce is at breaking-point, with staff absence having a very real impact on the delivery of education and the wellbeing of staff at the chalkface.  Schools cannot support home learning for those having to self-isolate when they can barely support the learners in the classroom.

“The best place for learners to get the education they deserve is in school, therefore it is our duty to do all we can to protect staff and learners.

“We urge the Welsh Government to sit up and listen to the profession, recognise that even if schools are open they continue to suffer from the impact of covid and urgently review the support for schools that is severely lacking.”

In response to the measures announced today regarding lateral flow tests in secondary for household contacts, no more testing for under 5s and PCR tests for close contacts for special school staff, Ms Doel added:

“Bringing in additional LFT testing for secondaries school household contacts and removing the need to test under 5s will bring little comfort to school leaders in those settings.  For our primary schools that continue to suffer from the impact of covid, there was no comfort at all.

“The removal of under 5s testing, which in itself is a mitigation measure against the spread of the virus sends completely the wrong message to parents.

“The one shred of good news was around PCR testing for special school close contacts which may go some way in lessoning the impact on those settings.  However, that will only be of help if PCR tests are turned around quickly and additional staff are on hand to cover any shortfalls.”