Teaching unions have hit out at Boris Johnsons’ plans to reopen primary schools in June and have said this is “nothing short of reckless.”
The Prime Minister said, that reception year 1 and 6 pupils “may” be allowed to return back to school on 1 June, at the earliest.
He added, “We will shortly be setting out detailed guidance on how to make it work in schools.”
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU) said, “We think that the announcement by the government that schools may reopen from 1 June with reception and years 1 and 6 is nothing short of reckless.
“Coronavirus continues to ravage communities in the UK and the rate of Covid-19 infection is still far too great for the wider opening of our schools.”
She added, “If schools are re-opened to blatant breaches of health and safety, we will strongly support our members who take steps to protect their pupils, their colleagues and their families.
“The worst outcome of any wider re-opening of schools is a second spike of Covid-19 infection.”
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the teachers’ union NASUWT, said the government’s announcement, “risks thousands of schools rushing to make decisions about how best to safeguard the health and safety of children and staff in the absence of any clear national guidance.”
Roach added, “It is baffling that following the government’s decision to close all schools on public health grounds, that the government now expects individual schools to work out for themselves whether or not it will be safe to reopen on June 1 and potentially put at risk the health of children, staff and the public.”
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