COVID-19: Education Secretary Gavin Williamson orders schools in Greenwich to remain open
The minister issues a "temporary continuity direction" to the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Monday 14 December 2020 22:45, UK
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has ordered schools in a south London borough to remain open following the local council's plans to close early for Christmas and move to online learning.
Mr Williamson on Monday night issued a "temporary continuity direction" to the Royal Borough of Greenwich, following a letter sent by the council to headteachers on Sunday.
Greenwich council - in similar action to Islington Council in north London and Waltham Forest Council in east London - had urged schools to shut from Monday evening and move to online learning for the rest of the current term, due to rising COVID-19 rates in the borough.
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But Mr Williamson has now taken action in a bid to keep pupils in classrooms in Greenwich, which - along with the rest of London - will move into Tier 3 restrictions on Wednesday.
"It is simply not in children's best interests for schools in Greenwich, Islington or elsewhere to close their doors," the education secretary said.
"Schools and colleges up and down the country in all tiers have shown incredible resilience in the face of this pandemic - and it's down to the hard work of teachers and staff that millions of children and young people have been able to benefit from a face-to-face education and be with their friends.
"I have always been clear that using legal powers is a last resort but continuity of education is a national priority.
"That's why I won't hesitate to do what is right for young people and have issued a direction to Greenwich Council setting out that they must withdraw the letter issued to headteachers on Sunday."
The direction, made under coronavirus powers, states it is enforceable by Mr Williamson making an application to the High Court or the county court for an injunction if the council does not comply.
Cllr Danny Thorpe, the leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said the council was "in the process of seeking legal advice and will respond to the government in the morning".
Some schools in the borough have already organised online learning from tomorrow, while others are remaining open to all pupils.
"We have alerted schools, and will speak to them tomorrow," Mr Thorpe added.
"But given we received this notification just before 5pm, it was impossible to ask schools to change any of the arrangements they have in place for Tuesday."
The Department for Education had earlier written to Greenwich and Islington councils to inform them it would consider issuing legal directions to require schools to stay open if the two boroughs refused to change their position.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to consider closing all secondary schools and colleges in the capital early and to allow them to reopen later in January because of "outbreaks" among 10 to 19-year-olds.
Meanwhile, Essex County Council has said nearly all secondary schools in Basildon have moved to full remote education.
Parts of Essex will be moving into Tier 3 restrictions from Wednesday - as will some of Hertfordshire, and the entirety of the capital.
While schools are supposed to remain open regardless of which tier they fall into, the heightened restrictions being introduced are indicative of how COVID-19 transmission has increased in those areas.
And the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that about one in 50 secondary school pupils is infected - twice the rate of adults over the age of 25.
Asked about the schools issue at a regular briefing with journalists, the prime minister's spokesman said: "We've consistently said that not being in school has a detrimental impact on children's learning as well as their own personal development and mental health.
"Which is why we expect all schools and colleges to remain open until the end of term on Thursday, as schools have remained open throughout the pandemic."
Under coronavirus legislation passed earlier this year, the government has the power to issue "directions" to headteachers around education provision during the pandemic.
Mr Williamson could apply for a High Court injunction forcing schools to remain open.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was "very reluctant" to see schools close.
He told his LBC radio phone-in: "I'm worried about closing schools early but equally I can see council leaders are put in a difficult situation now."
Asked what he would say to London mayor Mr Khan, the Labour leader said: "Talk to the health secretary about what we can do this week to keep schools open, try to keep them open this week."
Schools in England have been told that they can take an inset day on Friday in order to allow staff to have a "proper break" from identifying potential cases of coronavirus.
But school leaders have been demanding more flexibility to allow them to end in-person teaching earlier to reduce the risk of pupils and staff having to self-isolate over Christmas.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said other local authorities should "take the same decision" as Greenwich Council.
He said: "The government should have been planning for this weeks ago.
"They have now started to recognise the blindingly obvious fact that transmission is happening in schools and that this can spread to families. Much more is needed to control the virus in schools and to protect communities."
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Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said it was "deeply unfair" that schools, their pupils and their families have been "caught between the heavy-handed approach of central government and increasing alarm at local infection rates".
"Although it is now incredibly late in the day, the government must remove the threat of legal action and allow schools to make the decisions they need to make on behalf of their staff and children," he said.
"In the future, it must allow for more nuanced responses to local infection rates and the huge disruption affecting many schools rather than insisting on a one-size-fits-all approach."