Star date: 24th August 2020

WITH RETURN TO SCHOOLS IMMINENT GOVERNMENT HAS NO PLAN B STATES TEACHERS UNION

Salford has seven new confirmed cases of coronavirus bringing the cumulative total to 1,720. There have been no new deaths at Salford Royal Hospital.

With a return to schools imminent in September, yesterday teachers' union the National Education Union slammed the Government for being 'negligent in the extreme', adding that "school staff, parents and pupils are being sorely let down by Government because of a lack of a Plan B".

Full details here...

Salford has seven new confirmed cases of coronavirus bringing the cumulative total to 1,720, up from 1,713 the previous day.

Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, cases in Manchester rose to 4,034 (up from 4,005), followed by Oldham with 2,759 (up from 2,741), Wigan 2,281 (up from 2,272), Bolton 2,207 (up from 2,198), Rochdale 2,155 (up from 2,150), Stockport 1,950 (up from 1,944), Tameside 1,842 (up from 1,830), Trafford 1,606 (up from 1,597) and Bury 1,529 (up from 1,514).

There have been no new virus-related deaths at Salford Royal Hospital.

Meanwhile, with a return to Salford schools imminent in September, teachers' trade union, the National Education Union, or NEU, while acknowledging the benefits of a return to full time education for pupils' education and wellbeing, has slammed the Government for being 'negligent in the extreme' and for having 'No Plan B' should there be virus outbreaks...

"Schools and colleges need to know what should happen if an outbreak of the virus occurs in individual schools or more widely with either national, regional or local spikes" says Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the NEU "Government advice needs to cover the possible self-isolation of bubbles and, in extremis, moving to rotas or to more limited opening. It needs to cover advice to heads about the protections needed for staff in high risk categories if infection rates rise.

"Government should be employing more teachers and seeking extra teaching spaces to allow education to continue in a COVID secure manner if infections rise" he adds "This should include employment of student teachers who have finished their courses and not yet found jobs, as well as mobilisation of supply staff."

Yesterday, Public Health England produced a report showing that there were few outbreaks in schools after the partial wider opening in June, but the NEU states that the report itself acknowledged its limitations, as there was wasn't much data from secondary schools and because in primary schools much smaller 'bubble' sizes were possible in the summer.

"Schools and colleges are currently doing all they can to ensure their buildings are as COVID secure as possible, as well as dealing with the fallout from the exams fiasco" Kevin Courtney adds "However school staff, parents and pupils are being sorely let down by Government because of a lack of a Plan B and of ensuring robust track trace and test is in place throughout the country. We believe the Government is negligent in the extreme..."

At the beginning of August, Salford City Council published its own guidance on schools re-opening – for full details see previous Salford Star article – click here