‘Keep testing’
Commenting on today’s announcement, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: “Face-to-face education for all students has consistently been my priority, and that is why I am pleased to further strengthen the tools available to schools to manage transmission of the virus, including funding air cleaning units for the small number of classrooms that need them due to poor ventilation, and providing additional NHS funding to free up staff time to engage with the vaccination programme for young people.
“My message remains the same as ever – testing, ventilation and vaccinations are our best weapons against the virus – keep testing, and get your vaccination as soon as possible.”
‘Not enough’
Kevin Courtney, the NEU joint general secretary, welcomed the effort to increase vaccine take-up but expressed concern that it would not be enough to avoid “the increasing disruption to education, including of exam classes”.
He said: “The government should have invested in ventilation and air filtration before Omicron.
“They should be working much harder to rollout these solutions now. The decision to remove face masks may well prove to be very premature.”
Vaccine costs faced by schools
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, urged the DfE to ensure that every school in need of an air purifier received one “quickly”.
He added: “The news that there will be further air-cleaning devices made available for schools that need them is welcome.
“…The removal of other Covid measures in schools has made good ventilation more important than ever.”
Regarding the £1,000 vaccination payments to schools, he said: “It’s important to note that it is the medical teams that will continue to be responsible for running the vaccination programme.”
However, the first round of vaccinations had shown that schools do face some additional administrative burdens in supporting the medical teams “and it is right that this has been acknowledged”, he added.