State sector teachers says government claims they have smaller class sizes to stop the spread of coronavirus are false
Teachers in the state sector have criticised a government social media post that suggests that schools have “smaller class sizes” during the pandemic, the TES reports.
The post from the DfE, published on Twitter and Facebook said that: “from smaller class sizes to regular hand washing, schools are applying measures to reduce risks for children and staff.”
President of the NEU teaching union Robin Bevan said the post was “either deliberate deceit or dangerous delusion”.
Teacher Jenny Warren wrote on Twitter that she was teaching classes of up to 34 pupils during the pandemic, while another teacher also said she had a class of 34 Year 7 pupils.
In September, the OECD found that reducing the spread of Covid-19 in England’s primary classrooms might be more difficult than in other countries owing to larger class sizes.
The NEU teaching union has also recently called on the government to reduce class sizes to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.