THE MP for Harlow has called for teachers and support staff to be given priority for vaccinations, alongside NHS workers, solely for the purpose of getting schools open sooner rather than later.

Robert Halfon made the speech (virtually) in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Halfon said: “I want to begin by thanking the Health Secretary, his Ministers and advisers for all they are doing, working day and night to try and keep the country safe.

Whilst I understand the Government’s health measures, I really worry about school closure. I absolutely understand the need to control coronavirus, but what we need to know is if a risk assessment has been done as to the loss of learning, impact on mental health and safeguarding hazards to children not in school.

Not so long ago, fifteen hundred members of the Royal College of Paediatrics wrote that school closures significantly affect children’s wellbeing. Just last week, the same Royal College noted the huge four-fold increase in eating disorders amongst young people, in part due to school closures and social isolation.

Children’s groups have warned of a new frontier of vulnerabilities, as children are out of school, potentially exposed to online harms, exposed to county line gangs and exposed to tough situations at home, like domestic abuse.

School closures also put enormous pressure on parents’ livelihoods and wellbeing, as they may have to juggle their work whilst looking after their children, or reduce their hours.

We know also that remote learning is pretty patchy, and even with the Government’s welcome laptop scheme, hundreds of thousands of children are on the wrong side of the digital divide.

I would urge the Government to consider the following:

First, ensure that teachers and support staff are given priority for vaccinations, alongside NHS workers, solely for the purpose of getting schools open sooner rather than later.

Second, for more resources to be put into mental health, having practitioners in all schools to help with the fallout from closures and isolation, so that pupils, parents, teachers and support staff can access mental health support whenever they need it.

Third, the Department for Education and Ofsted should partner with schools as candid friends to ensure quality remote education for all pupils. I welcome that the Education Secretary said those students who do not have access to online learning at home are now able to go to school alongside children of critical workers.

The Chief Inspector of Schools, Amanda Spielman, has said that one day of national school closures equals around 40,000 child years in total.

As a country, a choice must be made. Do we value the coming generation of our young children or not? Are we going to risk their life chances to climb the educational ladder of opportunity by shutting down real schooling from their lives? 

We need a guarantee that the plans for schools to reopen after the February half-term is signed in blood and not just a guideline. Whilst we absolutely have to be careful of this awful virus, we cannot risk an epidemic of educational poverty and mental health, affecting the younger generations for years to come.