Schools must not reopen until health and safety watchdog has drawn up guidelines, union says

Schools must not reopen until the health and safety watchdog has drawn up risk assessments and the R rate is below one for the black and ethnic minority population, a teacher union has said.

The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) said that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) should “urgently” be tasked with drafting special guidance for schools on how they can safely open.

Dr Patrick Roach, the union’s general secretary, said that the Government must also carry out an equality impact assessment of the effect on reopening schools on black and minority ethnic (BAME) children before schools open.

The latest demands from NASUWT come days before schools are due to reopen. The union has already set five conditions for schools to reopen which they say must be “full addressed” for them to support the move.

These include schools having enough cleaning equipment, advice on social distancing, access to personal protective equipment and a recognition that teachers will be a “depleted” workforce.

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister said that schools should prepare for pupils in Reception, Year One and Year Six to return from June 1, with the “ambition” that the rest of primary school children would be back in the classroom by the end of the month.

But the announcement has been met with staunch opposition from teacher unions and dozens of local councils who said it is not safe to reopen next month. More than 50 councils have said they are against the June 1 start date and are either allowing headteachers to make their own arrangements or advising them not to open.

On Wednesday Dr Roach said that before reopening schools, ministers should confirm that the “R rate for black and minority ethnic communities is also below 1 in line with the commitments he has previously given to the country.” BAME patients face a disproportionately high risk of death from coronavirus, official data shows.

Last month, the Government ordered a review into why BAME patients appear to be disproportionately vulnerable to the virus. Local councils have previously said that they want schools in black, Asian and minority ethnic areas to be permitted to open later because they serve “higher risk” communities.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said that schools must be allowed some "flexibility" about when to reopen as they may want to consider factors such as the ethnic make-up of their pupils.