Following Boris Johnson's Saturday evening Downing Street press conference, where the PM confirmed that schools, universities and colleges would remain open when the country goes into a month-long lockdown on Thursday, thousands of teachers are calling for them to be closed.
On Saturday, the PM said schools, colleges and universities will remain open between 5th November and 2nd December when the rest of the country shuts down again.
He said the country could not afford to allow the virus to "damage our children's futures even more than it has already".
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In response to the news more than 70,000 teachers and support staff want schools to close, according to the National Education Union (NEU).
The NEU is the largest education union in the UK and represents 450,000 members from trainees, newly qualified or experienced teachers, lecturers, support staff or leaders, that work in every sector across the UK, including local authority, academy and independent schools, sixth form colleges and FE/HE.
General secretary Kevin Courtney said in a statement: "The government should include all schools in proposals for an immediate national lockdown and as a minimum be preparing for school rotas at the end of that period.
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"It is clear from ONS (Office for National Statistics) data that schools are an engine for virus transmission.
"It would be self-defeating for the government to impose a national lockdown, whilst ignoring the role of schools as a major contributor to the spread of the virus.
"This would be likely to lead to the need for even longer lockdowns in the future."
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The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate that one per cent of primary pupils and two per cent of secondary pupils have Covid-19 and that these levels have increased dramatically since wider opening when term started in September.
NEU analysis of ONS figures shows that virus levels are now nine times higher amongst primary pupils and an astonishing 50 times higher amongst secondary pupils.
On Friday, The ONS said that older teenagers and young adults "continue to have the highest positivity rates, while rates appear to be steeply increasing among secondary school children".
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Courtney made the comments ahead of the PM's Saturday evening briefing after the details of the upcoming lockdown leaked to the media.
Despite the immediate pushback from teacher's unions, following a two hour delay, the PM finally addressed the nation however, plans to keep schools opened remained in tact.
Johnson said during the press conference: "My priority - our priority - remains keeping people in education. So childcare, early years settings, schools, colleges and universities will all remain open.
"Our senior clinicians still advise that school is the best place for children to be.
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"We cannot let this virus damage our children's futures even more than it has already and I urge parents to continue taking their children to school.
"I'm extremely grateful to teachers across the country for their dedication in enabling schools to remain open."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: News, Coronavirus
