You may remember that on the 6th of August we wrote to a number of politicians who have responsibilities that include education.
Here’s our original letter;
Well today, a full month later, we have had ONE reply.
This one is from the DfE.
We’ll post each page of the response in the comments below, let us know what YOU think about this response.
Page 1 - mentions disruption but not unnecessary infections due to lack of mitigations
Page 2 - attendance mandatory, doesn’t mention the HT discretion that @NickGibbUK confirmed to @publiclawcentre last year
Point 4 may be of interest to SAGE & @IndependentSage members ‘responded to latest scientific advice and guidance’ really? @allthecitizens
Page 6 - @DrEricDing see U.K. advice regarding lunch times at school! Surface cleaning! It’s okay to mix hundreds of unmasked, unvaccinated students together in dining halls apparently!
Page 7 - does anyone else struggle to believe that the @educationgovuk has a shared goal with @SafeEdForAll_uk? The DfE don’t seem to want to STOP UNNECESSARILY AND KNOWINGLY EXPOSING CHILDREN, SCHOOL STAFF & THEIR FAMILIES TO INCREASED RISK OF INFECTION - THAT’S OUR GOAL
Our conclusion from the @educationgovuk response to our letter 👇
TIME TO TACKLE BRITISH EXCEPTIONALIST AND ABHORRENT ABLEIST RHETORIC
Increasingly it seems @educationgovuk , some paediatric professionals, some school leaders, most media journalists and even some parents spout the line that it’s okay for children to be infected because…
1. “Children mostly have a mild infection”
OR
2. “Very few children die”
OR
3. “Children who don’t return to pre-infection health swiftly have underlying conditions “
- a social worker to discuss non-attendance referrals
- University students to discuss last year’s shambolic return and hopes for this year
- doctors to discuss infection control, symptoms an treatments (& long covid on children)
- @KateGreenSU and @peterkyle to discuss what the opposition have done to STOP children, school staff and their families being unnecessarily and knowingly exposed to increased risk of infection.
“Today children, we’re going to talk about masks…”
No, just joking today we are going to discuss the use of a scientifically recognised mitigation against an airborne virus, like adults!
Let’s establish the important facts here; 1. Covid is airborne 2. Not everyone who has covid is aware that they have covid 3. People who are infected (including children) can transmit their infection to other people via the air they breathe
With infection rates in the UK being higher than they were in September 2020, being indoors in any setting with members of other households holds an increased risk of exposure to infection. 
Today we were made aware of the situation facing parents in Northern Ireland, here in England we’re aware of how the process regarding non-attendance during the pandemic has been but the situation for parents in Northern Ireland is very different.
Are you aware that Northern Ireland classes non-attendance as a safe-guarding issue and issues Section 47 procedures?
Withholding attendance of a child due to concerns about lack of safety measures is treated as child abuse.
A vulnerable family can expect education welfare officers, social services and the police to turn up on their doorstep and force attendance.
Parents who withhold attendance can be labelled as abusive.