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Today I have joined @NEUnion.
I was in a union before, so I wanted to set out my reasons for joining the NEU.
A thread.
I was in a union before, so I wanted to set out my reasons for joining the NEU.
A thread.
For various reasons I am not an obvious member of a union, let alone two. There is some light-hearted banter about "joining the comrades". 
However, the situation we are in no joke; it is exceptionally serious.
However, the situation we are in no joke; it is exceptionally serious.
An increasingly large body of evidence shows the risk of "business as usual" activity in schools spreading, not from cranks or fringe scientists, but reputable bodies such as the Office of National Statistics and SAGE.
Please follow e.g. @dgurdasani1 and @DrZoeHyde for details.
Please follow e.g. @dgurdasani1 and @DrZoeHyde for details.
I have been impressed by the way that the leadership of the NEU, such as Kevin Courtney ( @cyclingkev) and Robin Bevan ( @NEUpresident), has engaged with scientists to form a comprehensive, balanced understanding of the evidence and recommendations of experts.
At the same time, like most teachers, they care deeply about the well-being of all children. There is no need to preach to them about the value of education for everyone, especially the most disadvantaged. To portray the union otherwise is to denigrate all hard-working teachers.
But they are also aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of letting the virus rip, in terms of the health consequences to students, their families and school staff.
Vaccinating the over-70s does nothing to improve safety in schools. It also does not affect ICUs much.
Vaccinating the over-70s does nothing to improve safety in schools. It also does not affect ICUs much.
Meanwhile, the new, more harmful and more transmissible variants make schools more dangerous than ever before. It is these variants, particularly the now-dominant B.1.1.7, the 'Kent' variant, which made it essential to close schools in order to reduce Rt significantly below 1.
Fully reopening schools again now, in a 'big bang', with no additional mitigation to transmission (ventilation, masks rotas etc.) and before most people in schools have been vaccinated, carries a significant risk of further exponential growth in cases.
The long term effect on infected children is uncertain, but ONS evidence suggests that more than 1 in 8 infected children have symptoms that linger beyond 5 weeks from a positive test. Some children are of course more vulnerable to the consequences of infection.
Children are more likely than adults to introduce infection into the home, so parents may end up hospitalised or in ICU. It is parents' unvaccinated generation that are currently occupying ICU beds, so these may come under renewed pressure. https://twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1350416437870010368
As first doses of vaccinations are rolled out, the risk to adults will fall, though children will of course still be vulnerable. At current rates, groups 1-9 (over 50 and vulnerable) will be vaccinated by around the end of March. https://twitter.com/john_actuary/status/1361346852206051332
There is then the two week Easter break to allow immunity to build, and start on other key workers including school staff.
Why would we want to risk all this for a few short in-person teaching weeks?
Why would we want to risk all this for a few short in-person teaching weeks?
The gain from moving to on site teaching, with all the disruption this involves mid-term, compared with continuing with the online provision which improves by the day as teachers build their new skills, would be small, and does not justify the risk.
If we want to avoid further disruption as we move in and out of on-site learning, we need to move carefully to full re-opening, in tandem with the vaccine roll-out. We need further mitigation to open schools safely since children are unlikely to be vaccinated before the autumn.
A little less jam today, or a different flavour of jam, may give us a more plentiful and reliable supply of our usual jam tomorrow.
To return to the core discussion of the thread, my impression is that the leadership of the NEU understand these issues, but in addition are active in suggesting ways that members can act proactively to support the societal goals while not exposing themselves to unnecessary risk.
For example, the union supported teachers who felt that their working environment was unsafe, within the meaning of the Employment Act 1996.
I hope that we will see further such support, should it be necessary, in the future.
I hope that we will see further such support, should it be necessary, in the future.
So it is their combination of an intelligent engagement with the issues, a compassionate interest in students and their families and action to support and protect members from harm that contribute to my decision to place my confidence in the NEU.
I hope that all can work together to finally control this terrible disease. The pandemic affects different people in different negative ways and must now be contained.
