By James Erasmus Sutton
Demands for schools to close early ahead of the Christmas break have increased the pressure on Welsh Government as the Coronavirus pandemic once again spirals out of control. In a bid to ensure safety and fairness for pupils and education workers across Wales, unions are calling for term to end this Friday.
But First Minister Mark Drakeford and Health Minister Vaughan Gething have repeatedly said that it is not the intention of the Welsh Government to shut schools early, saying that pupils need to be in school and the risk of transmission is low.
Unions and workers across Wales, however, stress there is a duty to protect school staff and ensure they do not have to spend the Christmas break in isolation.
A petition calling on the Welsh Government to close school and sixth form colleges has now reached almost 11,000 signatures. The petition says teachers and pupils should be able to safely enjoy the festive break, with reference to the importance of being able to see family members and the strain that isolation can have on an individual’s mental health and wellbeing.
Separately, 500 education workers in Wales have also signed an open letter urging local authorities and head teachers to take matters into their own hands and act now. “If schools and colleges are forced to continue with face to face learning until 18th December, the risk to the health and safety of the most vulnerable over Christmas will be far greater, with staff and student infections and self- isolations inevitable,” it reads.
Workers from various local authorities including Cardiff, Caerphilly, Newport, Swansea, Bridgend, Carmarthenshire, Powys, Vale of Glamorgan, Ceredigion and Merthyr Tydfil have signed the letter. Significant support is also shown from National Education Union (NEU) reps up and down the country.
Unison Cymru Wales, who represent thousands of teaching assistants and school workers, say workers need to be protected. “The whole of the school workforce needs to feel that they can move into the school holiday period with as little risk of being affected by the virus as possible,” said Rosie Lewis, schools lead.
Currently, most schools in Wales are due to close on Friday 18th December. If coronavirus cases are found in the final week of term, whole bubbles would need to self-isolate for 10 days, potentially including Christmas day and Boxing Day.
This affects any worker or pupil in the bubble with a positive case, meaning they cannot leave their home for any reason outside of a medical emergency.
In a letter to the Education Minister Kirsty Williams, the Welsh language teaching union Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru (UCAC)expressed “serious concerns” amongst its members “that pupils and students will continue to attend an educational setting a week before Christmas day”.
So far unions including the NEU Cymru, UNISON, UCAC, NASUWT Cymru, and the Association of School and College Leaders Cymru have urged the Welsh Government to introduce an effective fire break prior to the end of term and move to remote learning for the final weeks.
Currently Wales has the highest rise in Covid-19 cases anywhere in the UK. In Port Talbot, the rate is as high as 700 per 100,000. Officials in Swansea warn cases could soon reach “catastrophic levels” if action is not taken.
Vaughan Gething, Minister of Health, expressed concern at the “very serious” coronavirus situation in Wales, stressing the “sustained pressure” on the NHS. However, Mr Gething has also faced criticism during the previous two-week firebreak in Wales, with many arguing that this did not go far enough.
Along with Mr Drakeford, Gething has now adopted an approach of seeking to push the burden of blame for rising cases onto the general population, repeatedly telling BBC Wales breakfast that it was up to individuals to make the right choices.
But speaking to Channel 4 news yesterday, health workers in the Prince of Wales hospital – who say they are almost at their most critical emergency stage – said Welsh Government had to act and put in place a lockdown. They said not doing so would be like “pouring petrol onto an already burning fire.”
Controlling the spread of coronavirus prior to increased family gatherings around the festive period is essential in curbing a rise in covid-19 cases. Stephen Reicher, a member of the behavioural science group to SAGE, emphasises the importance of controlling cases in the lead up to Christmas which will see greater interaction between family members, showing support for the transition to remote learning in schools in the last weeks of the term.
Some local authorities in Wales have already decided to close schools early in the lead up to the Christmas break. Rhondda Cynon Taff and Caerphilly County Borough have announced that they will close schools on Wednesday 16th December and will transition to a blended approach of remote learning, amid a rise in covid-19 cases in the area. Blaenau Gwent schools will shut even earlier, announcing they will close this Friday, on the 9th December.
Speaking this morning, Mr Gething said it was up to individual councils whether or not to shut schools, but pressure is building for more leadership from Welsh Government in the run up to Christmas.
