A government measure aimed at curbing the spread of Omicron in schools has been described as “totally inadequate” by a teaching union leader.

The DfE today announced it will provide another 7,000 air purifiers to schools, colleges and early years settings, as part of a package of measures to tackle a surge in cases of the Omicron variant.

But Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, highlighted that there were 300,000 classrooms in England, and urged ministers to go further.

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She said: “7,000 more air purifiers is something, but it is completely inadequate for what should be a basic human right, the provision of clean air in every classroom in every educational setting.

“The fact that the government has provided the extra purifiers shows that it recognises the problem, but with over 300,000 classrooms in England they have failed to provide an effective solution.”

The DfE had already said that 1,000 air purifiers would be given to special schools and alternative provision settings.

And an online marketplace for schools to buy air purifiers was launched by the DfE last term, although some heads expressed “shock” at the prices of those on offer.

However, there have been calls for more purifiers to be made available for free to mainstream schools.

The DfE also said today that it is recommending masks are worn in secondary school classrooms again - and has indicated that Ofsted inspections will be scaled back this month.

Ofsted: ‘Limping along’

And it announced that Ofsted will “encourage” schools that have been significantly impacted by Covid staff absences to ask for a deferral. Inspectors who are serving heads will not be expected to carry out Ofsted duties.

However, Dr Bousted again said the measures needed to go further, calling for all Ofsted inspections to be suspended other than those sparked by safeguarding fears.

“It is hard to see how Ofsted will function without the services of serving headteachers,” she said.

“Rather than limping along, Ofsted should suspend all inspections other than safeguarding concerns,” she added.

Warning from heads

The call for Ofsted inspections to be suspended was echoed by Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT headteachers’ union.

He said: “Ofsted inspections are the very last thing schools need given the pressure they are under just to stay open and minimise disruption for learners.”

He also called for air filtration units to be provided with “without delay” to schools that needed them most rather than on a “first come, first served” basis.

However, reintroducing face masks in secondary classrooms “appears to be a sensible move”, he added.

Meanwhile the ASCL school leaders’ union has said more details are needed on which schools will be eligible for the devices.

Funding pressures

And Unison assistant general secretary Jon Richards said the number of air purifiers being provided would “barely scratch the surface”.

The new measures also failed to address the need for extra funding to meet additional costs to schools, such as paying for agency cover when staff are sick or isolating, he said.