Teachers do not feel safe to go back to school
The ongoing situation and school closures as result of Covid-19 have a number of different implications for the education sector. We want to dig deeper into these issues, with help from the experts. This week, Dr Beng Huat See, Associate Professor (Research) in the School of Education at Durham University, explores the data on the wider extended opening of primaries.
This week, the phased reopening of schools started with primary schools beginning to admit Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils. This, however, did not go well. Government figures suggest that a week after the partial reopening just 52% of primary schools were opened, and only a quarter of children in these year groups turned up.
Durham University, in collaboration with Schoolzone, conducted a survey in the middle of May asking teachers what they thought of the reopening. Responses were collected from 4,600 teachers/lecturers from across different phases of education (Early Years to higher education).
Teachers told us that they did not expect a high turnout for the school years that were scheduled to return in June. Only a third of teachers expect more than half of pupils to return. Secondary school teachers were less optimistic.
One reason why the planned reopening has not gone well is largely because teachers were not convinced the government safety guidelines could be implemented effectively, least of all is the reduction in school size and keeping children in small groups. Of the safety measures suggested, only frequent cleaning (54%), access to testing (59%) and isolation of children tested positive (62%) were measures that over half of the teachers thought would be effective in ensuring the safety of children and staff.
The majority of teachers (85% primary and 75% of secondary teachers did not think that their schools could effectively implement class size reduction and social distancing measures. They were not confident that staggering breaks, lunchtimes, drop offs and pickups could be practically carried out. Teachers have also expressed concern that the 2m separation rule had been left out of the guidance.
When do teachers think it is safe for them to return to school?
About 85% of teachers across all phases said they would feel safe to return if the following measures were in place:
Effective social distancing measures for students and staff
Frequent cleaning of surfaces, including resources
Frequent washing of hands by students
Reduced occupancy levels of buildings
A system of test, track and isolate for all students and teachers
One main reason why the school reopening strategy had failed is likely because teachers did not think it is safe to return. Many teachers surveyed did not think that these safety measures (apart from hand washing and cleaning of surfaces) would be in place when they return to school. For example, only 4% of teachers believed that the track, trace and isolate system, which they deemed was the most effective measure in preventing the spread of infection, would be available when schools reopened this term.
Above all, teacher do not trust the government to tell them when to return. The message might have been different if it had come from the scientific community itself. A small number of teachers said they fear for their lives and those of their students. Some felt like they were being treated as guinea pigs, while others talked about the impact on their mental health.
To get teachers and pupils back to school, the government has to address their fears and ensure that there is sufficient staff capacity and physical space to implement the safety measures recommended. Until and unless we are confident that the R number is clearly below 1, then people will feel safe to return. Currently, the R number if some parts of the country is still high.
But the figures are difficult to interpret as we don’t yet have precise data. The North East, for example, has the highest number of cases per 100k population (391 per 100k), according the latest figures from Public Health England, but it is also reported to have the lowest rate of infections in the country according to a joint study by Public Health England and Cambridge University. However, the study also warned that that the R number in the North East could be underestimated and may actually be hovering just above one. Given the data, teachers in the North West should probably be more concerned as it has one of the highest cases of infection at 361 per 100k population, and the highest rate of infection (R 1.01) in the country.
