FOLLOWING a surge in Covid-19 cases in schools and significant strain on the TTP system, the National Association of Head Teachers Cymru (NAHT), has sent a letter to health minister Eluned Morgan asking her to step in.

The letter, which was copied to education minister Jeremy Miles, coincided with discussions with the Welsh Government, calling once again for school mitigation measures to be reviewed.

In the week ending September 24, 9,428 cases have been reported among under-20s in Wales. The vast majority of these are in people aged 10-19.

1.9% (around 1 in 50) of that entire age group has tested positive in the last week. That is 2,424 more than the previous week and over 3 times more than the peak in December 2020 which prompted an early end to a school term and prompted school closures in January 2021.

The problem is particularly acute In school-aged children, in whom infections have sharply risen since the abandonment of previous measures to keep schools safe.

Those measures included mask-wearing in class, a measure abandoned at the start of the current school term to ‘normalise’ education.

Although the new rules are designed to minimise disruption to education, education is being disrupted by children catching Covid.

It follows those current methods to curb Covid infections among schoolchildren are either incomplete or ineffective, as demonstrated by the massive spike in infections among the young.

Just before the start of the current school term, the Welsh Government announced a package of funding to ensure schools remained safe places for children. The increased rate of infections since the start of the term speaks to that funding’s late delivery and lack of success.

With schools a significant vector for spreading the virus and nobody wanting a return to lockdown and online learning, palatable solutions to the problem of Covid’s spread in schools are limited. The answers boil down to bringing back the rules from the last summer term and the hoped-for success of the vaccination programme for those aged 12 and over.

Eithne Hughes, Director of the Association of School and College Leaders Cymru, said: “Much of Wales is currently seeing very high rates of Covid-19 infection, with parts of South Wales the highest in the UK, and this is inevitably having a huge knock-on impact in our schools.

“Many are reporting higher levels of student absence than they suffered at any point in the pandemic, and this is being exacerbated by staff absences and a resulting chronic shortage of supply staff to provide cover.

“Many heads are reporting they have had to return to frontline teaching to ensure lessons take place and are having to work long into the night to carry out their leadership duties. This is exhausting and unsustainable for them.

“We warned before students returned for the autumn term that the Welsh government’s contingency guidance was inadequate, vague and open to interpretation and the situation has unravelled spectacularly in a matter of a few weeks as a result.

“The promised vaccinations programme for 12 to 15-year-olds is potentially the way that we can stem the inexorable rise in cases in our schools, but the government has not given a timescale for when this might start or details of how it will work in practice.

“With every passing day, confidence among leaders and teachers that it will be achieved by the October half-term is nosediving.

“Schools need decisive and strong leadership from the government to calm very real fears that the situation in Wales is getting out of hand.

“They need firm guidance on when the vaccination programme will start and how and where students will get their jabs and we would also like to see other measures such as a public information campaign to encourage students to take home tests and government funding for high-quality ventilation systems in schools.”

Laura Doel, director of NAHT Cymru, said: “There has been a lack of urgent action by the Welsh government to set in motion a plan after the clear failure of the TTP system. We can’t allow this situation to continue to interrupt the continuity of education for our learners.”

In the letter, Laura Doel said: “NAHT Cymru is receiving reports of no contact at all with TTP, despite having several cases in schools; contradictory advice like telling some siblings/children of positive cases to self-isolate and not others; contact tracers telling parents to ask the school for advice on whether siblings should come into school.

“A number of LAs have now told schools not to wait for TTP before sending out ‘warn and inform’ letters because the system is at capacity. There are also contradictions on close contacts going for PCR tests because our members are being told that the system cannot keep up with demand.

“NAHT Cymru has already shared our concerns about the framework not being robust enough to support schools before there were the widespread issues with TTP.

“TTP is a vital mechanism in keeping schools open. NAHT Cymru requests that an urgent review of the situation be undertaken.

“If TTP is unable to support schools then I request that health and education officials come back to the table with the employers and trade unions and discuss reviewing the current framework which is predicated on a functioning TTP system.

“It is unacceptable that school leaders are having to take on this function.

“NAHT Cymru wants nothing more than for schools to stay open, but our members need your help.”