Head teachers have warned that schools are expecting staff shortages as the new term gets under way today (Tuesday 4 January)
They expect a significant number of teachers to be in isolation after positive coronavirus tests and some have flagged up the prospect of more pupils learning online.
The Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi urged schools to merge classes to enable lessons to continue as the omicron strain of covid-19 continues to spread rapidly.
But heads said that they had already been doing this last term – and it was not a long-term solution.
Mr Zahawi outlined new covid measures for schools on Sunday (2 January), saying that he wanted to offer “reassurance” before the start of term.
Secondary schools are being asked to provide on-site testing for students before they return to the classroom while pupils will be asked to wear masks in classrooms.
Schools and nurseries have also been promised an extra 7,000 air cleaning units in total to improve ventilation in teaching spaces.
Brighton and Hove City Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty posted an open letter to Mr Zahawi on Twitter.
The letter said that it would be “yet another school term which we fear will be filled with illness and disruption, as we try to keep our children’s education going during this new wave of the pandemic”.
It referred to the Department for Education’s promise of 7,000 air cleaning units and “while welcome,” added that the number “falls far short of the adequate number which are required, and will still leave most schools without”.
He added that the council would like face coverings recommended for older primary pupils too, while close contacts should be “required to isolate until they can show a negative PCR test”.
And he said: “The educational disruption this will cause will be less than that caused by allowing this highly transmissible variant to take hold in our school communities.
“Given the reality of steeply rising case numbers and hospitalisations which omicron has brought us, we are dismayed that the department’s lack of planning and last-minute limited actions over the Christmas break has left our schools facing the new term and the new variant without the layers of protection they so badly need to keep staff and pupils free from infection and safeguard in-person learning.”
