Unison disappointment at many Wigan schools 'failing' to share coronavirus risk assessments

Over the weekend the trade union reported that 80 schools across the borough had failed to share risk assessments with UNISON ahead of expanding pupil numbers on Monday (June 15).

But it has said that only fifteen out of eighty local schools have now shared the assessments with school staff through their union.

Wigan Metropolitan branch secretary Kay Winnard said: "Over the weekend we reported that eighty local schools had failed to share risk assessments with UNISON ahead of expanding pupil numbers today. These risk assessments would have identified measures which can be put into place to protect pupils and staff during the pandemic.

"We are incredibly disappointed to announce that since then, only fifteen out of eighty local schools have now shared risk assessments with school staff through their union.

"To make matters worse, Wigan Council have failed to show leadership on this matter and are facilitating a poorly planned expansion of pupil numbers, which may increase the transmission rate of coronavirus in Wigan."

Wigan Council produced a list of schools on Friday that stated which schools had shown an interest to open to a wider group from Monday.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance suggests that all workplaces should complete a risk assessment, consult trade unions and share the results of the risk

assessment with staff and on the employer’s website.

The union said it is now extremely concerned that this week's return to schools will put both staff and pupils at risk.

It has written to the local authority and Labour MPs to express its concern and urge the council to reconsider its decision to allow expanded pupil numbers, given what it feels is a lack of progress on safety measures to date.

Ms Winnard said previously: "When the local authority announced that it would no longer issue guidance around wider reopening we raised the reasonable concerns and fears of support staff.

"“We call on the council to reconsider its decision and for local schools to work with us on urgently developing robust risk assessments whicht will help keep our communities safe.

She added: "We have alerted our members that Unison has not been consulted by schools and therefore school cleaners and caterers, teaching assistants and other support staff may be at risk.”

A council spokesman said: “The safety of staff and children are paramount, and we continue to work closely with all our schools to ensure comprehensive risk assessments are in place.

“We recognise that this is an uncertain time for teachers and parents and are committed to working in partnership with them, and with our trade unions, to ensure all staff feel supported.

“As children return to school, we will be in continuous communication with headteachers to ensure we can support and respond promptly to any concerns from them or from parents.

“If individual members of staff are concerned about their safety, we’d urge them to speak to headteachers and to us so we can work with them to understand and resolve any issues.

“Our schools have been amazing throughout this time, with all of our schools having been open for many weeks to support our keyworker children and those children that need additional support.

They added: "We will continue to work with school leaders to ensure that the increase in pupil numbers is carefully considered, managed and at a pace that is right for that school.”