During the planning for September reopening, one of the core safety matters to be addressed in schools’/colleges’ risk assessments is to put in place a contingency plan that will protect the safety of staff in the event of an in-school outbreak or a spike in the local infection rate, especially those who are CV/CEV or at higher risk. Failure to do this during the planning phase may trigger the escalation process outlined [here – link back to officers corona page]
Assuming that schools/colleges do have such a contingency plan in place, then the matter for branch/rep scrutiny will be whether the plan is properly implemented should there be an outbreak at the workplace itself, or a spike in the local infection rate. Reps and branches should respond to such outbreaks as follows:
In-school/college outbreaks:
Actions for reps
- Trigger: Symptomatic case in-school/college
- Reps send In-School Outbreak Response Letter 1 – Contingency Provisions to Head/Principal
- Alert branch and regional office
- Convene members meeting
- Trigger: Failure of school/college to promptly confirm that they will follow these outbreak provisions
- Reps send In-School Outbreak Response Letter 2: Serious Safety Warning to Head/Principal – letter should be co-signed by members where possible
- Consult with branch and regional office to consider escalation actions set out below, liaising with branch, district or regional office for further guidance.
- School/college response remains unsatisfactory, immediately flag to branch and regional office to issue relevant legal advice to members and to consider option to issue notice of industrial action ballot/indicative ballot.
Local spike outbreaks:
Actions for branches & reps
- Trigger: Local infection rates, either in MSOH/Ward or across LA spike, but not yet put the LA on the Gov/PHE ‘watch list’:
- Branch contacts Local Authority around local spike.
- Reps discuss with members about contact between branch and local authority, notifying their Head/GB/LA
- Campaign (parents, public, media)
- Trigger: Local infection rates put LA on Gov/PHE ‘watch list’:
- Branch sends Local Spike Outbreak Response Letter 1 – Contingency Provisions to all reps and asks them to send to Head/Principal. Branch sends copy of letter to LA/MATs and directly to heads/principals in schools/colleges without a rep
- Flag to regional office
- Trigger: Failure of school/college to promptly confirm that they will follow these outbreak provisions
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- Reps send Local Spike Outbreak Response Letter 2: Serious Safety Warning to Heads/Principals. Branch does likewise for schools/colleges without a rep.
- Flag to Region/Wales Office
- Reps send copy of Letter 2 to all members and convenes urgent members meeting. Branches do likewise for schools/colleges without a rep.
- School/college response remains unsatisfactory, immediately flag to branch and Region/Wales office to issue relevant legal advice to members and to consider option to issue notice of industrial action ballot / indicative ballot.
