Concerns of staffing levels in Calderdale schools as impact of pandemic on teachers is explored

Members of Calderdale Council’s Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Board heard of a number of ways in which staff were being affected, or could effect, the situation in the new school year.

As well as senior council staff, Chief Executive of Halifax-based Trinity Multi Academy Trust Andrew Gosling, Principal and Chief Executive of Calderdale College John Rees, North Halifax Grammar School Andrew Fisher, Headteacher of Burnley Road Academy, Mytholmroyd, Clare Cope and Headteacher of Whitley AP, Halifax, Philip Hannah, were at the virtual meeting to give councillors the fullest picture possible.

The impact on staff, and staff numbers, in turn had a knock-on effect, councillors heard.

For example, said Mrs Cope, if teachers had children of their own at another school and their child had to isolate, that impacted on the school at which they taught.

“The concerns are whether we would have enough staff to a bubble open. if they are having to take time off with their own children,” she said.

Board member Dr Helen Vickers said the situation could change so rapidly, for example a student testing positive at Ryburn Valley High School meaning the pupil’s bubble had to isolate, from day to day.

“How do you handle that situation, it is complex and ever-changing,” she said.

Mr Fisher said teachers had to develop different ways of being able to take the curriculum to students who were at school also to those isolating who had to be taught by remote learning.

It put a lot of pressure on teachers and he was personally aware of one or two teachers whose mental health had been affected by teaching through lockdown earlier in the year.

Board member Shelagh Hirst said teaching children required having suffieicient staff to do it.

“I am hearing reports in schools, not schools in Calderdale but around the country, where headteachers are having to spend a lot of time to get staff because of absences,” she said.

Mr Hannah said at his school he had three out of 28 staff developing COVID-19 symptoms but luckily they had managed to get a test the same day as their symproms and when negative were able to return to work.

“But it puts pressure on teams and getting hold of good staff to come in is quite difficult,” he said.

Coun Amanda Parsons-Hulse (Lib Dem, Warley) said that, although Government would have to agree to it, council buildings not being used by the local authority could be made available to schools to help out with issues like social distancing.

This had been done successfully in Denmark.

The meeting heard COVID-19 had raised mental health issues for some children and staff.

Coun Anne Collins (Lab, Ovenden) asked if schools could test “in house”.

Public Health consultant Ben Leaman said schools had a limited supply of test kits they could use in an emergency where people could not get hold of a test in more usual ways.

Coun Howard Blagbrough (Con, Brighouse) asked if the council was ensuring pupils who needed special help or were vulnerable were getting the support they needed.

Calderdale Council’s Assistant Director for Education and Inclusion, Mark Randall, said the needs of those pupils were looked at individually – some had made better progress in lockdown than in school.