Lack of school closure plan ‘an extraordinary dereliction of duty’, Covid inquiry told | Covid inquiry

The leader of one of the largest funds of the Academy in England described that the Department of Education did not fulfill any planning for the closing of schools before blocking in March 2020 as an “extraordinary violation of the obligation”.

John Coles, Executive Director of United Learning, told the British request Covid-19 that he almost fell from the chair when he read the statement of Gavin Williamson Secretary of Education at that time In which he said that there was zero closing planning, because the priority was to keep schools open.

Colez, who was a senior civil servant for 15 years in DFE, where he was the Director General of Schools and Education standards, testified as part of the eighth investigation module, which is focused on the influence of pandemic on children and youth.

“I read in Gavin Williamson that he said that by this moment the department did not make any planning for the closure of the school, because their priority was to keep schools open,” said Cowles when he testified to the investigation on Monday.

“I almost fell out of my chair when I read it. I think that this is an extraordinary scatter of debt from the leadership of the department – both political and civil service. It was clear to me as the one who managed the schools that there was a high probability that schools were supposed to close, and we planned this, although, of course, all that we could keep in schools open. ”

Colez told the investigation that since the beginning of March 2020, he and his team begin to meet and discuss what problems will probably be represented that Covid, which Covid, probably could imagine. “From March 10, we began to communicate, really daily, about what we could see on the highway,” he said. “And on March 10/11 we told the schools:“ We see that schools will be closed in the near future. ” I do not think that this was based on something, except for common sense. ”

In the absence of some direction from DFE, the trust began to manage webinars for his schools on how to ensure a remote education, as well as offering protection tips – what was supposed to be a key task – since children and employees were increasingly being isolated as a virus.

Trust also pushed DFE about what could happen to children in free school nutrition that would miss if the schools closed, offering vouchers as an alternative. “All this was independently initiated,” said Colez. “We did not receive any directions, since, obviously, DFE was waiting for directions from No. 10 before he began his planning work. We did not receive directions, and we continued planning, because it is obviously the right thing in circumstances. ”

In a statement for the investigation in 2023, Williamson said that he did not ask for DFE officials to prepare an assessment of the impact of schools in early 2020, because the councils at that time “did not recommend closing” and did not order it.

He described the “Discounting 24-hour sea change” when the opinion moved from maintaining schools open on March 16 to talk about closing them on March 17, and the next day an announcement was made about their closure.

When canceling the exams, Colez repeatedly caused continuous fears about plans for obtaining an assessment of GCSE and A-level using an algorithm based on the results of the last school, he heard an investigation. He described this as a “slow car accident.”

The request continues on Tuesday, and the eight module is scheduled for four weeks.