Concerns over school closures amid rise in Covid cases in Cumbria
The National Education Union has said its "inevitable"
Schools across Cumbria could be forced to close over the coming months if more staff have to isolate due to Covid-19.
The National Education Union has told Greatest Hits Radio that almost every school in Cumbria will suffer from staff shortages in the coming months as Covid cases increase.
Schools have previously had to close due to teachers having to isolate with Covid 19 - and it’s been suggested classes could be merged in order to keep them open, even if teachers are absent.
The Union has said that students’ education will be negatively impacted if more staff have to isolate with Covid 19.
"It's a no-win situation"
Chris Brooksbank, Joint Secretary for Cumbria, told us almost every school in the region could be affected and that we should look at alternative solutions.
"At the moment it's likely that almost every school in Cumbria will have staff shortages", said Chris.
"It's a no-win situation because we want children to be in school, we want schools to be functioning, but if there aren't the staff there to run it then some classes, some bubbles or some year groups will inevitably have to close temporarily.
"I think it is inevitable that there will be more staff absences. It's looking fairly bleak and it's likely to get worse over the next few weeks. It's going to be very complicated and very difficult, and the head teachers have my upmost sympathy in trying to manage this situation.
"When you have situations where children are bundled together in bigger groups the impact is bound to be detrimental in terms of the quality of education, but also the likelihood of the spread of the virus is increased so it might make things worse to do that for a long period of time."