EXCLUSIVE: Teachers fear for their safety as they have to hand in tests in a few hours at Wandsworth Town Hall

By Ella Hopkins

Teachers are terrified of the risks of passing on Covid-19 after being told they must drop off home-tests to a town hall in person before the new year.
Thousands of primary school staff across Wandsworth are being required by council chiefs to deliver home test results over a short two-day window.
Tests must be delivered in person to Wandsworth Town Hall on December 29 and before 2pm on December 30. Primary school staff will not be given the option to book a test through an online portal, which is available to secondary school staff. There are  2,808 primary school staff in the borough.
Andrew Stone, the Wandsworth representative of the National Education Union (NEU), welcomed the introduction of tests for schools staff which the union has been asking the government to provide since June.

But he warned that plans in place from Wandsworth council could put teachers at risk and that tests used in schools – Lateral Flow Tests – have been reported to have high false negative rates which could create a “false sense of security”.
He said: “There’s concern from our members and representatives that they have to travel in to a place that is potentially very busy and potentially on public transport as a lot of staff live outside of Wandsworth.
“They’ve [the government] created an impossible situation for heads, who have been given inadequate funding and support, with directives repeatedly issued at the last minute in complete ignorance of the disruption this causes for staff.
“It’s a scandal that only last week – three weeks after the new variant reached 25 per cent of London infections – they were threatening to sue London councils for allowing schools to move to remote learning.”
One teacher from a special school in Wandsworth said: “I don’t want to put myself at further risk of catching or spreading infection by travelling to Wandsworth Town Hall and mingling in close proximity to so many potentially infected people.”
A Wandsworth primary school teacher said: “I’ve taken one, but most of the staff don’t live in Wandsworth so have refused.
“The emails were incredibly confusing. People also did not feel confident that they really served a purpose as the tests only show that people aren’t infected on that particular day and that travelling to deliver the tests puts them at further risk.”
This week, the NEU called for new measures to ensure safe return of schools and colleges in January. It called on the government to implement online learning for the first two weeks of term, a testing system for all children and vaccinations for staff.
But Will Sweet, the Wandsworth councillor with responsibility for education, said: “Testing is a major weapon in the fight against Coronavirus. Ensuring that staff are not infected and can continue teaching will help keep pupils safe and schools open.
“Parents can rest assured that comprehensive steps have already been taken and will continue to be taken to ensure classrooms are safe for their children. What is important is for the children to continue learning and enjoying their days at school.
“School is the best and safest place for our young people to be. The health and safety of young people, families and school staff remains our top priority.”
NHS England and the Department for Education have not commented.