Following the government’s proposal that schools and colleges re-open for all students as normal in September, senior leadership teams now have to ensure the safety of both students and staff before their return to the classroom.
By September, it will have been more than six months since schools were open as normal and, in order to be “Covid-secure”, employers will need to undertake a risk assessment and put in place various measures to protect their staff from contracting coronavirus.
According to the National Education Union (NEU), risk assessments should consider the position of vulnerable staff and staff in higher risk groups. Students in such groups may also need to be supported to learn from home. If necessary, arrangements such as rota systems should still be used to ensure the health and safety of all staff.
Laura Kearsley, partner in Nelsons’ expert employment law team, said: “Employers should be discussing and agreeing plans for September with all staff and ensure safety measures are in place before pupils return next month. The Department for Education (DfE) argues that most staff will be able to attend school where necessary protective measures set out in its guidance, particularly cleaning, hygiene and social distancing arrangements, are applied.
“However, despite the push to get schools open again, efforts should be made to consider whether staff other than those who work directly with students or are instrumental to the opening and cleaning should be on site and the timing of this. With so many changes to ways of working, many employees have concerns and questions about the logistics of returning to work when the coronavirus pandemic is still ongoing.”