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The government is pressing ahead with full reopening of schools in England  and whilst we all want pupils back in classrooms and learning together UNISON wants it to happen safely.

We firmly believe that the Department for Education’s guidance on schools reopening in England falls short and there doesn’t seem to be a ‘plan B’ in case of further outbreaks.

In order to support members, we have produced the new materials below, including an important new joint union guide for vulnerable staff.

Risk assessments
We need to make sure members know this is the number one priority. Before staff return to work, schools must update and make their risk assessment available, set aside time before pupils return to go through it with all staff, and provide any training that’s required.

We previously sent you this joint union checklist which will assist school leaders and schools reps in carrying out a thorough risk assessment.

We’ve sent this to members again and have urged them to ask their head teachers for a copy of the school’s updated risk assessment, the timeline for consulting staff, and the dates of any training that may be required.
Joint union checklist
Vulnerable staff
The joint unions do not accept the DfE’s position that all vulnerable employees can attend school from September. Under the DfE guidance, little PPE would be provided and social distancing would be very difficult. As a result, schools and colleges will have fewer protective measures in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19 than most other workplaces. Staff who are medically vulnerable or otherwise at higher risk will still therefore be at a greater risk if they contract the virus.

Our joint union guidance therefore calls for ‘Clinically Extremely Vulnerable’ (CEV) employees to be able to work from home from September if they choose to. 

In relation to all other vulnerable and at risk groups, we want schools to undertake individual risk assessments to consider the range of measures needed to protect each individual, and for consideration of home working in these cases.

The guide covers:

  • Extremely clinically vulnerable staff
  • Clinically vulnerable staff
  • Pregnant staff or new mothers
  • Older or male staff
  • Overweight staff
  • Black staff
  • Disabled staff
  • Staff living with or caring for a family member who is medically vulnerable or at higher risk
  • Staff who are otherwise anxious about returning to work and mental health considerations
Read the guide
We have also produced a simple model letter for members to send to their school raising any concerns before September and have asked them to alert their branches if they are unhappy with the response from their employer. We also suggest that vulnerable members seek advice from their GPs.
Read the model letter
We’ve written a brand new set of FAQs for members so they know where they stand (and where UNISON stands) on a range of issues, including face coverings, cleaning, social distancing, childcare, cover supervision and lots more.

They cover all school settings: primaries, secondaries, special schools, nursery schools and early years.

Read the FAQs