Increased Covid threat sparks call for fresh risk assessments

Teachers union NASUWT wants government action to ensure that all school and college employers carry out fresh risk assessments in light of the increased Covid-19 threat level across the country.

With the new lockdown happening while schools remain open, the NASUWT is also calling on employers to publish their risk assessments and to explain to parents and to employees the additional safety measures they are putting into place to prevent the spread of the virus within schools and colleges.

The union is also concerned that some employers are becoming complacent in their approach to ensuring staff safety and has said they will take appropriate action where employers fail to meet their legal obligations for the health and safety of staff.

In the latest survey of NASUWT members, in which 7,440 responded, just one-third of teachers (34%) believe the control measures in their school are adequate, compared to 46% who said they were not.

In addition, the NASUWT submitted Freedom of Information requests to employers on whether they had updated their risk assessments and carried out equality impact assessments. Only a minority of employers had confirmed that they had done so.

More than one in three teachers (36%) reported that their schools had not updated or reviewed their covid-19 risk assessments since the start of the autumn term. In addition, 38% of teachers said that they had not been consulted on any revisions to their employer’s risk assessments.

More than two thirds (68%) said they did not know if their school plans to update its risk assessment and nearly a third (29%) said their school does plan to update it.

More than a quarter of teachers (27%) said appropriate measures had not been put in place in their schools to ensure adequate ventilation in classrooms.