Headteacher unions begin legal proceedings against DfE

[Makingnumber2]

www.naht.org.uk/news-and-opinion/news/leadership-news/update-regarding-start-of-term-sent-to-members-on-2-jan-2021/?fbclid=IwAR3WFugSo-KsSToWAvbteMs8HspeXZTMBd9VaiOlAVxOeL0FM1wDRzqbviA

NAHT and ASCL start legal proceedings against DfE

@Countdowntonothing oh I'm sure they'll manage it... I expect they'll pick up on the reference to section 44 and there'll be headlines like:
Lazy teachers abandon our kids and refuse to work
Teachers letting our kids down
etc. etc.

Great news, but how can they ask for a brief time off?.. Surely the virus, cases and hospital capacity dictates that.

The children need to off for as long as necessary?.

I'd prefer tests sent home to be done by dc and also self isolation at the same time.

All with the caveat that tests are not fail safe and other measures need to remain in place.

Asking for time off in order to discuss a safe return is better than saying ‘schools must close as it’s not safe’.

Excellent, glad people are finally getting the message that schools want to be SAFER, NOT CLOSED.

I’ve no idea why they are not going on strike!

@Ticklytoes

I’ve no idea why they are not going on strike!

It is actually very difficult to call a strike now-the conservative government quietly passed laws a while back to make sure of that.

Oh this is fabulous news. I didn't think DfE could get any worse than Gove until the last 12 months. I love the bit about the DfE chasing news headlines instead of taking real action.

@Ticklytoes as christmaspud said, anti-union laws passed by this government make it very hard to call a strike. Also, strikes often don't have the support of parents/general public. I think this tactic being taken by the NAHT and ASCL is perfect because it prevents the need for a strike happening and is more likely to achieve what is being asked for imo.

Remember that the government's priority is finding ways of diverting public funds to their friends, families and political backers.

You know it’s serious when the NAHT take some action!

I support them and I'm not a teacher but a parent

Good news. Things were fine for us until the last 2 weeks, now looking very grim in our area.

I wish it could be against Boris Johnson personally but know the law does not work that way.

I think it may be too late to stop schools opening on Monday, unless a court injunction is being sought.

Good luck taking the Governmant to court.

I think it may be too late to stop schools opening on Monday

Teachers will be taking action too, refusing to go into schools except to teach keyworker/vulnerable children, which may be enough to close them on safety grounds.

Desperate for school to stay open. To do that it needs to be SAFE. No teacher or staff member should be put at risk to educate my child.

Good luck teachers.

@noblegiraffe

I think it may be too late to stop schools opening on Monday

Teachers will be taking action too, refusing to go into schools except to teach keyworker/vulnerable children, which may be enough to close them on safety grounds.

I can see schools sending out blanket closure texts at 7.30am on Monday morning when they simply don’t have enough staff in to safely open.

The legal route is great, far less antagonistic than strikes and the DfE will be required to show its working on school safety.

Yep, this is great. This has cheered me right up.

I do not agree with this at all. Unless the unions are going to support teachers teaching via online video calls. It is not OK to shut primary schools. Some teachers have done an amazing job keeping the schools open and the children being taught. No teachers or children at our primary school have had coronavirus. Why should it be forced to shut? I know of a nurse demanding school places for her children full time during the first lockdown even though they work part time and were not working or resting several days a week. I know of teachers in the first lock down doing sweet FA. I know of teachers working above and beyond to keep things going and to support the children in their communities and who were so upset when their online video teaching had to be stopped.

I do not agree with this at all. Unless the unions are going to support teachers teaching via online video calls.

But this has been done to death, online video calls all day only suit a tiny number of people. Why on earth can't you support videos which can be accessed at any point in the day? Then all the people who need to support their children in the evenings and weekends can access the learning too. It's people like you who bleated "my child is not plugged in 9-3, so my school are doing nothing" who make life hard for the vast majority who are just trying to keep their children on track in the time they have available.

I work in early years but fully support all teachers. Schools are not and have never been safe hope something is sorted by monday.

Massively unreasonable of them. They just need to get on with educating children and stop trying to shut schools down. Ridiculous.
If other key services made such a fuss we’d be in a terrible state.

It defies belief that so many people on mumsnet want schools to close, and sympathise with teachers who want to shut schools.

Just bonkers.

Ah, I see that U4T have sent out the bat-signal.

Good!

I'm absolutely petrified to go back into school next week.