Don't blame key worker families for virus surge, blame the rule breakers instead - Mark Casci

In reality, schools never closed. Since the first lockdown in March last year they have remained open to the children of key workers, so that the vital work they do in terms of keeping us healthy, fed, connected and informed can continue.

Every teacher and support staff member in every school in the UK should be incredibly proud of the fantastic work they have done during the pandemic to keep children educated and safe, often under the most trying of circumstances.

Key workers come from all sections of life, from doctors and Government officials to delivery drivers and shelf stackers – all made equal in the designation that their work is of critical importance to the country’s ability to function.

It was, however, with some considerable degree of disappointment that I saw calls over the weekend for numbers of these key worker places in schools to be diminished or indeed even scrapped.

Now while I would never fault anyone’s intent in seeking to reduce the spread of this vicious virus, the damaging effects of which I have seen first hand in my own personal life, I must call into question this position which makes little sense.

While Covid-19 can spread anywhere it must be kept in mind that transmission in school has been kept low owing to the diligence of teachers and support staff using the bubble system.

Classrooms are well ventilated and hand washing is encouraged regularly. If someone connected to a classroom bubble tests positive then the whole class isolates for two weeks. It is a chaotic system at times but it has been effective at keeping teaching staff safe and children in school.

The number of children from key worker families in school is indeed higher than during the Spring lockdown, it is still far lower than was seen before Christmas.

And while teaching staff should be a top priority group for vaccination, the fact remains that schools are a safe environment for the vast majority of the time.

There is a reason why Professor Chris Whitty, arguably the most vocal public figure when it comes to the need for restrictions, has not called for a tightening of the rules because he knows that the existing ones would be sufficient to stem the spread of Covid, provided people follow them.