UCAC's position on the week of 20-24 July

23 June 2020

Local Authorities made a series of announcements from Friday 19 June onwards regarding their arrangements for the 'extra' week of term before the summer holidays, namely 20-24 July.

In light of those statements, and the fact that some of them referred to 'the unions', we wish to make UCAC's position clear.

• UCAC has at no point opposed or campaigned against the opening of schools during the week of 20-24 July; neither has it campaigned in favour

• UCAC has outlined a series of practical issues that would need to be considered and resolved if schools were to open during the extra week, or if the school year were to be varied in any way

• The reality is that it is Local Authorities and the Welsh Government who have failed to reach agreement on this issue, not the unions and the Welsh Government

UCAC's position in relation to other Welsh Government proposals:

• UCAC argued strongly that if schools were to re-open before the summer, the focus should have been on specific groups rather than trying to give every pupil the opportunity to return, for purely practical reasons relating to the safety and health of pupils and staff

• UCAC, in conjunction with 9 out of 10 education unions, opposed the re-opening of schools in early August; the tenth union also opposed, but in a separate statement

UCAC has made all decisions in accordance with its democratic structures.