Deputy Rob Ward, education lead for the party, said that he, and his Reform Jersey colleagues, have ‘serious concerns’ about the planned reopening of schools on Monday.
In an open letter to ministers, Deputy Ward has said that students returning to school when it is unclear whether the new variant was present in the Island is ‘irresponsible’ and called for a phased return to school.
This, he said, would include having primary schools return after two weeks with staff having been vaccinated and then a phased return of secondary schools ‘which reflects the reconnection process outlined’.
Deputy Ward, a former teacher and union leader, said: ‘We share the concerns over students not being in school or college. But equally, we have serious concern over the impact that the uncertainty of whether students will become infected in schools and colleges and the impact on their families is having on wellbeing.
‘We want to make clear that we have serious concerns over the health of teachers and lecturers who have been under constant pressures from the very beginning of the pandemic to balance teaching and their growing roles as providers of wellbeing support for students and families. This constant pressure will take a longer term toll on the profession.’
In outlining a possible way forward, Deputy Ward said that a two-week extension of the stay at home order would allow the impact of the festive period to be reflected in the statistics and that during this period schools and colleges could deliver online learning.
He added: ‘Finally we want to express the concerns we have received from the teaching profession over how their treatment has been perceived. Many teachers and lecturers feel they have been thrown into the frontline with scant regard to their long term wellbeing. This needs to be addressed and trust rebuilt in the coming weeks and months.’
