"Staff in Calderdale schools badly need a break"

The eleventh hour nature of some Government decisions and changes they have to implement have added to the pressures, members of Calderdale Council's Children and Young People's Services Scrutiny Board were told.

Calderdale Council's interim Interim Assistant Director Education and Inclusion, Lesley Bowyer, told board members: "School staff are on their knees - they have not had a break since February last year," she said.

Staff hoped for better planning from the Government so that things were not thrust upon them at the eleventh hour, she said.

Headteachers saw the lateness of decisions and last minute changes as a major concern, said Ms Bowyer.

"We have not been asking whether they have to be open at half term - we have been asking for guidance so they can plan," she said.

Previously schools had supported key workers in holidays for example by using childminders or staff working but taking a break later, said Ms Bowyer.

Coun Mike Barnes (Lab, Skircoat) asked where schools were at with COVID-19 testing and vaccinations of school staff.

Ms Bowyer said Calderdale was ahead of the game with testing which had been rolled out before and after Christmas, with schools supported to use either Calderdale's programme or the national scheme.

Consultant in Public Health to Calderdale Council, Ben Leaman, said priority for vaccinations rightly remained with those people who were most likely to have adverse consequences to their health if they caught the virus.

But when the stage was reached where this could be offered more widely to the population, the council wanted to ensure that education staff and early years staff were high on the list, he said.