Schools reopening in the UK - what do parents, teachers, and unions say?

Government: “moral duty” to reopen schools in the UK

Boris Johnson says that reopening schools in the UK is a “moral duty”, and the issue has seen heated debates nationwide in the past week.

I’ve got my own opinions about this, but I was curious to find out exactly what parents and teachers think - and the truth might be surprising depending on your views!

Sources at Downing Street say that the PM believes the harm done to students by missed education and diminished mental health is “far more damaging than the risk posed to them by the virus.”

If any future strict lockdowns happen, the PM plans to close schools last. The idea of opening schools at the expense of pub and restaurant closures has been floated, and an 80% majority of UK adults agree.

Government has made it clear that they expect all pupils to return to school for the Autumn term, and that normal anti-truancy sanctions will apply.

Unions’ and teachers’ views on reopening schools in the UK

Surveys of unions and teachers show that the profession is largely in favour of reopening schools, but safety concerns remain.

A survey of 24,000 Scottish members of the EIS teachers’ union found that 64% of teachers “support the decision to reopen” but only 18% “have confidence that schools are currently safe” and just 3% are “very confident”.

Concerns centre around a shortfall in test and tracing capacity and a lack of faith in operational changes; just one-quarter of teachers indicated their confidence in current measures.

The National Education Union’s joint general secretary said that they have “always” pushed for a return to school but that the lack of a plan B would “put children’s learning at risk”. 

The union has Published a return to school checklist which covers aspects including contact minimization, social distancing, enhanced hygiene, cleaning, and ventilation, and PPE.

Industry figures like Steve Chalke, head of Oasis Academies, have recommended delaying the reopening. The 52 Oasis Academies are preparing with measures including split hours - half of students would be at school and half learning at home on laptops - while Chalke has suggested a two-week delay to allow for further preparations

The Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, called for weekly tests for children and teachers, while the Association of School and College Leaders suggested a week-on/week-off pattern in the event of future outbreaks.

Parents’ views on schools reopening in the UK

The majority of UK adults agree with the government’s stance - 57% of adults surveyed by YouGov believe that schools should “fully reopen” vs 25% against and 18% “don’t knows”.

Compared to past surveys, that’s a massive shift in public opinion. Back on April 20, a YouGov survey found that 77% of UK adults were against reopening schools. 

Still, there remains some controversy; many parents are concerned about sending their kids back - and some scientists agree with them. A former chief scientific adviser to the government said last week that the country is “nowhere near” ready to send students back to school.

But the Government claims there is little evidence of Coronavirus being transmitted in schools, and their scientific advisers agree; Prof Russell Viner, a leading paediatrician serving on SAGE, said that reopening schools is one of the “least risky things we can do”.

Should schools reopen in the UK?

As a parent and education consultant, I have to say I’m in favour of reopening schools, and here’s why.

When it comes to containing the virus in the UK, the cat is long out of the bag. Does anyone think we’re about to go into another full lockdown for 3 months? Start from scratch? Forget about it; it’s not going to happen short of an unprecedented outbreak.

Even if the government had that kind of political capital to spend (it doesn’t), it might be economically impossible at this stage. Rishi Sunak this week said the government is “grappling with something that is unprecedented” following a 20.4% shrink in the economy; the deepest recession since records began. 

How much more will another 6 months knock off? What would the long term effects of that be for our country and especially for our kids? I honestly don’t want to imagine.

If we’re going to reopen anything, there’s a strong moral argument to be made that schools should be the number one priority.

I’d certainly rather see my kids in school than people living it up down the pub.

The damage caused to a forgotten generation of students would be incalculable. Those of us working in FE already know the cost of missed educational opportunities, and sometimes it’s not pretty.

For once, teachers, unions, the government, and parents are mostly on the same page. Let’s listen to teachers’ concerns, put the proper safety measures in place, and get our kids back to school.