Dear Members
Education unions and associations have today joined together in advising secondary schools and colleges on the Government’s proposals for mass Covid testing from the start of the spring term.
The government yesterday announced that all secondary schools and colleges in England will be able to test staff and students from the first week of January.
However, organisations representing school and college leaders, teachers, and governors are concerned that the plans outlined by the government for rapid testing are not deliverable by the start of next term given that there are only two weeks to plan for this programme over the Christmas holiday period and numerous outstanding issues that must be addressed.
The plans require schools and colleges to recruit and train staff, and put in place processes to manage a large-scale testing programme. There are a number of unanswered questions including exactly what staff are expected to do, and what costs will be covered by the government, which have to be resolved before testing can begin. It is imperative that any testing programme is sufficiently resourced with suitably trained staff.
The NASUWT, together with the Association of Colleges (AoC), Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Church of England Education Office, National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), National Education Union (NEU), National Governance Association (NGA), and Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA), have issued a joint advice note to their members today.
The advice can be found on the NASUWT website.
NASUWT Coventry 