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Hand sanitiser in a classroom at Outwood Academy Adwick in Doncaster, in September 2020
THE Covid-19 infection rate among secondary school-age children increased massively over the autumn term, according to data released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS estimates put the infection rate among Years 7 to 11 on January 2 at 2,950 per 100,000 — a huge 74 times the rate of 40 on September 1, and the biggest increase in any age bracket.
National Education Union (NEU) joint general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said that the results showed that the union was right to stand up for safety in schools, “a massive public health issue on which this government has been consistently behind the curve.”
NEU members at Woodfield School in north London are taking sustained industrial action against enforced cuts to learning support assistants’ hours and pay. MARY ADOSSIDES reports
KEVAN NELSON reveals how, through its Organising to Win strategy, which has launched targeted campaigns like Pay Fair for Patient Care, Britain’s largest union bucked the trend of national decline by growing by 70,000 members in two years