There's Something in the Air 🧵
Imagine every school in the country was found to have Legionella in its water supply.
Imagine that the bacteria in the water was making pupils and staff ill....in every single school....every single day.
1/
Imagine every school in the country was found to have Legionella in its water supply.
Imagine that the bacteria in the water was making pupils and staff ill....in every single school....every single day.
1/
2/
Imagine that children and adults in every school were routinely developing a cough, high temperature, shortness of breath, chest pain, and other flu-like symptoms.
(You don't need to imagine this; the bacteria causes Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever.)
Imagine that children and adults in every school were routinely developing a cough, high temperature, shortness of breath, chest pain, and other flu-like symptoms.
(You don't need to imagine this; the bacteria causes Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever.)
3/
Imagine that the water kept making people ill, day after day, week after week, year after year.
Imagine that many adults working in schools and many pupils were repeatedly falling ill.
Some of them became seriously ill.
Imagine that the water kept making people ill, day after day, week after week, year after year.
Imagine that many adults working in schools and many pupils were repeatedly falling ill.
Some of them became seriously ill.
4/
Imagine that, while many children and adults recovered (or seemed to recover) from their initial illness, many others developed long term symptoms and conditions, significantly impacting on their quality of life:
Teachers. Pupils. Leaders. Support staff. Visitors.
Imagine that, while many children and adults recovered (or seemed to recover) from their initial illness, many others developed long term symptoms and conditions, significantly impacting on their quality of life:
Teachers. Pupils. Leaders. Support staff. Visitors.
5/
Imagine that all this illness was impacting severely on pupil & staff attendance.
Imagine that this absence had significant consequences on school budgets, on the smooth running of schools, on staff workload, on children's learning, on families' circumstances & well-being.
Imagine that all this illness was impacting severely on pupil & staff attendance.
Imagine that this absence had significant consequences on school budgets, on the smooth running of schools, on staff workload, on children's learning, on families' circumstances & well-being.
6/
Imagine that, curiously, hardly anybody wanted to talk about the water, even though everybody knew that the water was causing the illness and the absence.
Not politicians, trade unions nor the media.
So everyone just kept using the same water...the same air conditioners...
Imagine that, curiously, hardly anybody wanted to talk about the water, even though everybody knew that the water was causing the illness and the absence.
Not politicians, trade unions nor the media.
So everyone just kept using the same water...the same air conditioners...
7/
Imagine that those people who did talk about the water - concerned parents, concerned school staff, concerned medical professionals and scientists, people harmed by the water - were seen as a nuisance.
They were ignored, silenced and ridiculed.
Imagine that those people who did talk about the water - concerned parents, concerned school staff, concerned medical professionals and scientists, people harmed by the water - were seen as a nuisance.
They were ignored, silenced and ridiculed.
8/
Imagine that international scientific research - published in 400,000+ studies - showed the correlation between contaminated water and ill health, and proved the danger of ongoing exposure.
The risks were undeniable.
Imagine that international scientific research - published in 400,000+ studies - showed the correlation between contaminated water and ill health, and proved the danger of ongoing exposure.
The risks were undeniable.
9/
Here's the curveball:
Imagine that, instead of spending money cleaning the water supplies, the Government and DfE instead spent their money on...
...strategies for improving children's attendance.
Here's the curveball:
Imagine that, instead of spending money cleaning the water supplies, the Government and DfE instead spent their money on...
...strategies for improving children's attendance.
10/
They ramped up pressure on pupil attendance.
They ramped up rhetoric about missing school.
They ignored the water.
They ignored the bacteria and all the illness it caused.
They focused on parents.
They ramped up pressure on pupil attendance.
They ramped up rhetoric about missing school.
They ignored the water.
They ignored the bacteria and all the illness it caused.
They focused on parents.
11/
Imagine knowing that ten million children and young people, and a million education professionals, were using contaminated water supplies every day.
Imagine knowing this but doing nothing.
Imagine knowing that ten million children and young people, and a million education professionals, were using contaminated water supplies every day.
Imagine knowing this but doing nothing.
12/
Imagine this went on for five years.
Imagine the repeated illness was proven to be affecting people's immune systems and central nervous systems.
And their mental health.
And their behaviour.
And their cognitive ability.
And their development.
Imagine this went on for five years.
Imagine the repeated illness was proven to be affecting people's immune systems and central nervous systems.
And their mental health.
And their behaviour.
And their cognitive ability.
And their development.
13/
Imagine all the illness left hundreds of thousands of pupils and school staff with chronic illness and new onset conditions.
Imagine there was no treatment available for those people.
Imagine that many educators lost their careers and many pupils lost their childhood.
Imagine all the illness left hundreds of thousands of pupils and school staff with chronic illness and new onset conditions.
Imagine there was no treatment available for those people.
Imagine that many educators lost their careers and many pupils lost their childhood.
14/
Imagine knowing the contaminated water was doing this but doing nothing to fix it.
Imagine not even trying to mitigate the risks.
Wouldn't that be unthinkable?
Wouldn't it be irresponsible?
Wouldn't it be negligent?
Wouldn't it be a scandal?
Imagine knowing the contaminated water was doing this but doing nothing to fix it.
Imagine not even trying to mitigate the risks.
Wouldn't that be unthinkable?
Wouldn't it be irresponsible?
Wouldn't it be negligent?
Wouldn't it be a scandal?
15/
Wouldn't doing nothing to prevent harm from a known risk be incompatible with employment law (eg the Health and Safety at Work Act) and with statutory safeguarding duties (eg Keeping Children Safe in Education)?
Wouldn't it?
Wouldn't doing nothing to prevent harm from a known risk be incompatible with employment law (eg the Health and Safety at Work Act) and with statutory safeguarding duties (eg Keeping Children Safe in Education)?
Wouldn't it?
16/
Now imagine it wasn't Legionella bacteria in the water causing illness.
Imagine it was droplets and particles containing the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in the very air that children and staff were breathing.
Now imagine it wasn't Legionella bacteria in the water causing illness.
Imagine it was droplets and particles containing the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in the very air that children and staff were breathing.
17/
Imagine it was even worse than the bacteria from the water because this virus kept spreading through the air, passing from person to person.
Imagine that everyone knew this was causing the illness and the absence.
Imagine knowing this but doing nothing.
Imagine it was even worse than the bacteria from the water because this virus kept spreading through the air, passing from person to person.
Imagine that everyone knew this was causing the illness and the absence.
Imagine knowing this but doing nothing.
18/
You don't have to imagine this.
This is how it is.
This is how it's been for five years now.
A known hazard, with proven risks, quietly wreaking havoc, in every school in the land.
Illness, the biggest cause of absence, driven by a virus, that we pretend doesn't exist.
You don't have to imagine this.
This is how it is.
This is how it's been for five years now.
A known hazard, with proven risks, quietly wreaking havoc, in every school in the land.
Illness, the biggest cause of absence, driven by a virus, that we pretend doesn't exist.
19/
An airborne virus that's causing perpetual harm to the education workforce, the pupil population and wider school communities.
An airborne virus that's causing perpetual harm to the education workforce, the pupil population and wider school communities.
20/
It needn't be like this.
Schools could have clean air.
School pupils, staff and visitors could breathe clean air.
Clean air would mean reduced transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
It would also mean reduced transmission of other airborne viruses, allergens and pollutants.
It needn't be like this.
Schools could have clean air.
School pupils, staff and visitors could breathe clean air.
Clean air would mean reduced transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
It would also mean reduced transmission of other airborne viruses, allergens and pollutants.
21/
By choosing to ignore a known hazard, successive Governments have allowed illness and harm to become an almost inevitable consequence of going to school.
It's a situation which is, surely, the very definition of negligence.
By choosing to ignore a known hazard, successive Governments have allowed illness and harm to become an almost inevitable consequence of going to school.
It's a situation which is, surely, the very definition of negligence.
22/22
Illness and harm should not be an inevitable consequence of going to school.
Not for pupils and not for staff.
Of course it shouldn't.
-
PS
Our politicians have clean air in Westminster.
They know all about the risks from Covid and the benefits of clean air.
END
Illness and harm should not be an inevitable consequence of going to school.
Not for pupils and not for staff.
Of course it shouldn't.
-
PS
Our politicians have clean air in Westminster.
They know all about the risks from Covid and the benefits of clean air.
END
@_CatintheHat
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
