14 July 2020

The response from UCAC to the letter from The Children’s Commissioner for Wales - UCAC's response letter to the Children's Commissioner for Wales
 

9 July 2020

UCAC education union has responded to today’s announcement by the Minister for Education about the reopening of schools in September.

Dilwyn Roberts-Young, UCAC General Secretary said “Headteachers and teachers have worked tirelessly to ensure that arrangements for re-opening schools have created a safe environment for pupils. This builds on the work that took place throughout the period of school closures.

“With the statement from the Education Minister we can now look forward to welcoming pupils back to our schools in September and we await the publication of the guidelines for reopening. However, with the guidance being published so late in the day, there will need to be some patience in relation to preparation for the reopening during the first few weeks of the autumn term.

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

09 June 2020

UCAC has expressed our serious concerns about the proposed re-opening of schools and has emphasised the concerns of our members to the Education Minister in the strongest way terms.

Today we met with the Welsh Government for the first time since the statement and have clearly set out our concerns and dissatisfaction in correspondence which is available here:

LETTER

In addition to the formal letter we have shared a comprehensive list of questions with a request for urgent answers. That document is available here:

QUESTIONS

We welcome any comments that may feed into the discussion with the Welsh Government and with local authorities in order to ensure the health and wellbeing of staff and pupils at our schools.

I trust you are safe and well, remember that UCAC is here for all your inquiries.
 

3 June 2020

UCAC education union has responded robustly to today’s announcement by the Minister for Education that schools in Wales will re-open step-by-step for all pupils from 29 June.

Dilwyn Roberts-Young, UCAC General Secretary said “Education unions have been in regular discussions with Welsh Government since the beginning of this emergency, including about reopening schools. In partnership, the profession has put provision in place in a heroic manner for pupils across Wales during this period of disruption.

“However, we are shocked that the Government has ignored the unions’ opinion that Years 6, 10 and 12 should have taken priority if schools were to reopen before the summer.