Teachers should not plan lessons or mark work during partial school closures due to the coronavirus, a union has stated.
The NASUWT teaching union says schools have been “repurposed to enable the provision of childcare for children of key workers and vulnerable children” and that “curriculum provision within schools is therefore disapplied”.
Guidance on the NASUWT website states that teachers “may reasonably be expected” to organise and make available learning resources for children who would otherwise normally attend school.
And the union says it supports teachers in reviewing and updating schemes of work and lesson plans for delivery once the coronavirus closure has concluded.
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But it states: “The NASUWT expects that all teaching, lecturing or instructing, including peripatetic tuition, must be discontinued at this time.
“Teachers should not be expected to plan lessons to be delivered during the period of Covid-19 school closure” and they “should not be expected to undertake marking of work of children affected by Covid-19 school closure.”
Meanwhile, teachers have expressed confusion at the guidance.
One English teacher tweeted: “My friend in the NASUWT has clearly been told that they are not expected to mark at the moment. Does the same apply to NEU? My department is being told to mark essays and booklets and put data in trackers as well as plan each lesson??”
A spokesperson for the NEU teaching union said she was checking on what advice was being given to members.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education pointed Tes to guidance on the government website, which states: “We understand that these are extraordinary times. The most important thing is that children of critical workers and vulnerable children are supervised and properly cared for at school.
“Emergency legislation will lift curriculum requirements for schools, giving flexibility to provide support, activities and education in the way they see fit.”
