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1. @GavinWilliamson @NickGibbUK @educationgovuk @Ofstednews @BorisJohnson @RishiSunak @DominicRaab @MattHancock @michaelgove #edutwitter #education #emergencycurriculum #MakeSchoolsSafe Dear UK, we in the government, the DfE & Ofsted apologise for our mistakes. We will attempt to
2. now learn from them. We failed to plan ahead for education, we failed to protect our citizens and we failed to implement safety measures in schools to mitigate the risks. We failed over & over again. We will now truly make education, health & wellbeing a national priority by
3. fully investing in safety measures for workplaces and schools. We know that no where is in fact 'COVID SECURE' but we will fund measures to ensure places have increased security and safety measures. Schools will have: smaller class sizes, rotas, blended learning, improved
4. ventilation systems (yes, COVID-19 is airborne), masks/PPE for all staff and masks for children aged 6+ & required 2 metre social distancing. They will have at least the same safety measures as required for all other indoor settings. We will listen to your concerns & include
5. education staff in one of the priority groups for vaccination. We will support and furlough parents (1 adult per household) to ensure you can support your children with their wellbeing and with learning. We understand this is a national emergency and we will support you.
6. We will introduce a reduced, emergency education provision: a mixture of recorded sessions on Oak Academy + education TV, online learning eg via BBC Bitesize + some live teaching, some worksheets & independent tasks, some outdoor activities + more space to focus on wellbeing,
7. creativity, enjoyment and activities to improve mental health. We will support schools, staff, headteachers, parents and families. We understand children will be at differing levels. And this is absolutely OK. Children are individuals. We will adapt curriculum going forward
8. and work with educational professionals to make it more suitable for the 21st century, for young people, for greener jobs for the future; and more flexible and adaptable for future pandemics. We would like to be honest and give people time to plan. Schools will not reopen
9. to most children before the Easter holidays. They may not reopen then. They may not reopen until September, when we hope to have most of the population FULLY vaccinated. We can assure you, they will not reopen to most, until we have fully implemented safety measues
10. to mitigate against the risks to children, school staff, families and communities. Safety measures will of course help us all to stay safe, save lives and protect the NHS. Exams will be adapted for next year too. We understand that pupils on a 2 year GCSE/A-level/BTEC course
11. will have missed learning this year. We will look at teacher assessments, moderated internally and then externally by examiners & moderators. We will not increase teacher workload to do this but will instead significantly increase PPA time, and increase teacher numbers.
12. We will speak to, cooperate with and listen to experts in their field. For education, this includes teachers from all sectors, as well as headteachers and unions. Again, we are sorry for all the distress our last minute decisions have caused. We will do better. We must.
Dear Gavin Williamson. #deargavinwilliamson @nasuwt @Keir_Starmer @RichardBurgon @zarahsultana @UKLabour @DavidRutley @EdwardJDavey @CarolineLucas
