Conservatives’ COVID chaos: Government fails to act to save education

This month school students across the country returned to underequipped and understaffed classrooms due to a lack of government action. As a result, according to the latest figures over 400,000 students per day are missing out on crucial lesson time due to preventable COVID outbreaks. Students who have avoided testing positive have also experienced massive amounts of disruption as around 100,000 staff members were also absent from lessons.

Bedford Borough Council has had to step in throughout the pandemic to prevent further student and teacher absences due to government neglect and inaction. The Council made sure that every classroom in the Borough was equipped with air monitors at the start of September. Most recently the Council purchased COVID air filters to place in each classroom with poor ventilation. The Council has also consistently provided guidance to schools that masks should continue to be warn in crowded spaces despite the government's decision to ditch Plan B guidance with cases at an all time high.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Children's Services OSC Councillor Hilde Hendrickx said "I'm incredibly concerned with the government's inaction as I'm sure many students and parents are. We have already had nearly two years of disruption and yet the government still cannot seem to get it right. There are plenty of simple and relatively cheap measures they can introduce in order to prevent outbreaks, such as providing air filters to poorly ventilated classrooms and ensuring there are sufficient COVID tests available for students and staff. Instead they have suggested that teachers should open windows and doors - something that isn't at all practical in winter months."

The Liberal Democrats estimate that putting an air filter in every classroom in England would cost approx. £136 million, around half the price of Boris Johnson's pet project - the new £250 million Royal Yacht. Instead of focussing on the cause of ventilation issues, the government has instead made monitors their priority which is only part of solution. However, despite the prioritisation, they have still been painfully slow in providing these to schools. Bedford Borough Council were forced to step up and provide their own monitors, making sure there was one in each classroom by the start of the school year in September. The Council were then able to identify which classrooms needed air filters and used its own funding to purchase hundreds of air filters to supply schools in need.

Councillor Hendrickx continued "This is a huge national problem that the government has failed to get right throughout the pandemic. Our children are missing out on vital education that could set them back for years to come. The government must look at providing options such as catch-up vouchers so that school students are given the opportunity to reach their potential."

The Liberal Democrats have called for a £30 catch-up voucher for every day missed by school students for COVID-related absences to fund much needed private tutoring. Studies from the Education Policy Institute have shown that the lost lifetime earnings across a million school children in the UK from lost learning during the pandemic could amount to £46,000 each. Their research also shows that lost lifetime earnings across the 10 million school children in the UK from lost learning during the pandemic could impact the economy by some £463bn in a worst case scenario. Yet the Conservative government announced only £1.8bn in catch-up funding for our children in October's Budget.