Coronavirus Briefing - Derby City NEU



Derby City NEU Coronavirus Briefing 15th March 2020

With the rapid escalation of Covid19 / Coronavirus cases there has been much discussion within the NEU at all levels about how to respond to protect our members, students and the wider public, and how far the government’s current strategy is likely to be effective in minimising the numbers of people who get ill and die.

In this briefing, we want to address some of the most commonly asked questions from members and suggest a strategy within schools. Particular thanks go to Stefan Simms and Ealing NEU for putting together their brilliantly helpful document so quickly – we have used a lot of this in our advice now.

CONTENTS

  1. FAQ
  2. WHAT TO DO NOW
  3. WIDER UNION RESPONSE
  4. WIDER DEMANDS


FAQ



  1.  The Government says we must self isolate for 7 days if we have a fever and/or a continuous cough; will I get paid? Will this trigger the school’s ‘absence policy’? 
  2.  We are coming up to exam season; my students are worried they will fail, I’m worried that I will fail my PM targets, I’m worried Ofsted will fail us because our results will be poor.
  3. I have or live with someone who: is pregnant, is diabetic, has respiratory issues, has a poor immune system or is on immunosuppressive drugs or is elderly. What is the advice?
  4. If some of us are self isolating, should those of us in school do cover, or double up classes?
  5. Should school trips and parent evenings go ahead?
  6. If the school is partially or completely closed or if I am self isolating should I teach using online methods and/or video-call a lesson?
  7. If I live with someone who is self-isolating, should I self-isolate?


Answers & Guidance


  1.  Yes you will be paid. This does not count as a sick day and will not trigger your school’s absence policy. This is part of your Terms and Conditions as stated for teachers in the ‘Burgundy Book’ and the ‘Green Book’ for support staff. 
  2.  Whilst this Government hasn’t yet closed schools like the rest of Europe, it has clearly implied that it will when the ratio of infected people per percentage of the population increases. Northern Italy closed its schools on 22nd February and are unlikely to open until end of April – that’s almost 10 weeks! So, our schools are very likely to close just as the bulk of the exams start next term. Some members of the National Executive are arguing that the NEU should call for our schools to be closed immediately, all exams: SATs, GCSEs & A Levels, be cancelled and all Ofsted inspections suspended for a year – preferably forever. We will have to rely on teacher judgement and course work. This is clearly not ideal, but with the prospect of up to 0.5 million people dying, this morally must take precedent. In the advent of our schools closing for so long, Derby NEU will support any school action up to and including strike action if any teacher is failed their PM targets this year. Before Performance Related Pay ten years ago, all teachers moved up the pay scales automatically. All school union groups should seek guarantees that everyone will be moved up the pay scale from their headteacher.
  3. Seek advice from your GP and/or call 111. If they say self isolate do so. Derby Local Terms and Conditions entitles a teacher to be paid for up to 5 working days for a sick child or close relative ie Mum or Dad. You should hold a school union group meeting and call upon the school to pay all staff, teachers and support staff, alike for anyone in this category: pregnant, diabetic, suffering from respiratory issues, a poor immune system, on immunosuppressive drugs, or elderly. The school must also extend the 5 days for as long as necessary. The NEU will offer full support to anyone who has their pay docked or are threatened with disciplinary action. (If the dispute involves a support staff member we will still support them but there are slightly different rules to follow, please refer to either the District Secretary kieran.picken@neu.org.uk or the Branch Secretary david.boulter@neu.org.uk for further advice).
  4. No. Your school should employ supply teachers, who will suffer severe financial hardship when schools are closed. Our Terms and Conditions are also covered by the ‘School Teachers pay & Conditions Document’. It states that we should only do cover “rarely and only in circumstances that are not foreseeable”. Clearly teachers self isolating as recommended by the Government is foreseeable.
  5. Whilst the government is only advising to do a risk assessment, I believe that it would be wise for parent evenings and school trips to be postponed. Again call a union meeting and agree to put this to your headteacher – many schools have already taken this step.
  6. There are many stories of teachers in Italy and China finding ways to teach their pupils via video calling and using online material. Some more useful and creative than others. Firstly, it is important to note that whilst commendable and where possible desirable, children from disadvantaged backgrounds will suffer due to a lack of access to laptops if they are at home. If you are self isolating, only suffering mild symptoms and feel able to do this, then you should. School development plans could be worked upon too. However, if you are too ill to do this then don’t; you are ill - end of. Schools must consult with NEU school groups about the amount of work that one could be expected to do especially if you are looking after children or elderly parents.
  7. The advice from Public Health England is that those self-isolating should try to isolate themselves from the people they live with. However, Public Health England’s advice is to self-isolate if you experience the symptoms of Covid-19, however mild.


General Advice:


We should also call upon our schools to continue to pay/hire staff that are employed by agencies and staff who are on very short notice temporary contracts. Staff should not be expected to deep clean their school if Covid-19 is found in it.

Finally, in anticipation that at some point our schools will need to close, School NEU groups should call upon their school to find ways to continue to feed those children who rely on free school meals e.g. vouchers from supermarkets. 

The Heath and Safety Act states “It shall be the duty of every employee while at work to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work”

Clive Romain, the NEU’s senior solicitor, says:


Can an employer discipline or dismiss an employee who refuses to go to work because they are concerned about catching the disease from colleagues or others?

i. Potentially yes, as long as fair process is followed and decision is reasonable.

ii. However if the employee is dismissed for refusing to attend work because he/she employee reasonably believes that they are in serious and imminent danger that would be automatically unfair under s100 ERA 1996.

In practice, employee may have difficulty in establishing “reasonable belief” in the absence of guidance from PHE or Government that the pandemic disease has become so contagious that employees should remain at home. Employee who is pregnant, over 60 or in some other higher risk group may be more likely than others to be able to demonstrate “reasonable belief.”


This important qualification re-emphasises the need to resolve these concerns collectively.

WHAT TO DO NOW


Clearly there are a lot of factors to consider, and schools will all be considering different responses. Here are 2 helpful things that you should do in your school as soon as possible:

1)    Call a school union meeting as soon as possible.
2)    At the meeting, these key demands should be discussed:
a.     Risk assessments should be carried out for everyone in school, including families of staff.
b.     All staff should be issued with advice that they must stay home if they’ve got symptoms and this will not be held against them in any way.
c.     All contracted staff to be paid in full for work they would normally be carrying out, i.e. self-isolations should be treated as authorised absence, not sick pay; ill staff should be on normal sick pay not SSP; staff with Covid-19 should not have this illness count towards sickness absence triggers etc (see above for more detailed advice)
d.     Discuss what we could do to assist the most vulnerable members of the staff body, students and the wider community in the event of closures.

WIDER UNION RESPONSE


The National Union has produced advice that can be found here.

On Friday 13th March the NEU Executive took the decision to cancel our Annual Conference. A very hard decision given the importance of Conference; but made both to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 and in the belief that many delegates would not attend either because of self-isolation or illness, making conference unrepresentative this year.

On Saturday 14th March the Joint General Secretaries of the Union Kevin Courtney and Mary Bousted sent an excellent letter to the Prime Minister asking for the government to explain its decision-making process and evidence for not closing schools at the moment. You can read the full letter here and a Guardian article here. Today (Sunday 15th March) Kevin Courtney linked to a letter from the British Society of Immunology which supports this approach.

Today they have written to Amanda Spielman and asked for Ofsted inspections to be suspended as the virus spreads.

The crucial test of how well we respond to this crisis though will be the actions of members at the chalkface. Holding meetings and raising questions and ideas for discussion more widely will be important. If your school does not already have a rep, we strongly suggest organising your colleagues now.

On a more local note, we have been planning a Derby event called ‘What Have the Unions Done For Us?’ targeted at those just entering education careers. We will postpone this for now, but keep your eyes out for future announcements!

WIDER DEMANDS

Covid-19 is having an impact on all levels of society. If schools do close that will have an impact on parents and carers as well as us and our students. Some perspectives to consider:

  • On 12th March the Financial Markets suffered their worst crisis since Black Monday in 1987. The last crisis over ten years ago allowed the 1% to impose austerity on us whilst their personal wealth increased massively. This cannot be allowed to be repeated.
  • The Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty to the UK Government says worst case scenario is that 80% of us will get infected and that ~ 1% of the populations will die, that’s 500,000 people. (Most of us will only suffer mild symptoms). In addition, he says we are approximately 4 weeks behind Italy. These types of coronaviruses mutate, so the situation could worsen still or improve.
  • So far criticism of the government’s strategy has come from many quarters, including from the scientific community over the issue of social distancing and the deadly consequences of the ‘herd immunity’ approach.

Questions for union groups to consider:

  • Are coronavirus support networks growing in your area and what can we do to help? Many of these groups are springing up on social media and particularly Facebook.
  • What should be the demands on the government in the event of a wider shutdown? Rent and mortgage suspensions would seem to be an obvious one, as should food and energy supplies. These would really help our poorest families and those who are self-employed and losing business.
  • In our profession supply teachers are highly vulnerable to school closures and because of the use of umbrella companies and agencies SSP entitlement is unclear, forcing many onto ESA or Universal Credit. What can be done to identify the needs of and provide support to our supply colleagues at this time?
  • If Ofsted can be suspended during the crisis, is there a way to keep them from resuming at the end of the crisis?


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