Teachers have delivered a “devastating verdict” on the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis in schools, a survey by the NEU teaching union has revealed.

The NEU has published the findings of a survey of more than 5,400 teachers and leaders ahead of its special conference taking place today.

It highlights major concerns among teachers about the government’s ability to keep schools safe, the availability of tests,  the challenge of keeping schools open and a lack of funding to meet the extra costs.

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Here are five key findings from the NEU survey.

1. Teachers ‘don’t trust the government’ on Covid 19

The NEU said 84 per cent of respondents “do not trust Boris Johnson’s government” to keep schools safe, to protect workers, to listen to the profession, to support vulnerable or disadvantaged children, or to ensure exams and assessment are fit for purpose during Covid.   

The union said: “This is a devastating verdict on the government. The views were consistent across the sample, with very similar percentages of classroom teachers and leadership members for each choice, and the same was also true when primary and secondary sector responses were compared.”

2. Schools already facing significant pupil absences

Four out of five respondents report pupil absences because of self-isolating and a lack of access to coronavirus tests.

And one in five confirms “significant” numbers of pupil absences at their school for these reasons.

Teachers say that prioritising pupils and staff for Covid-19 testing is absolutely key to keeping schools open - it was the top priority for respondents (74 per cent), with increased local testing being highlighted by a similar number (73 per cent)

3. Staff shortages

Almost half of those surveyed had “significant” concerns about the possibility of staff shortages - resulting from self-isolating and a lack of testing. The union said this risks impacting on their school’s ability to maintain workable staff levels.

More than one in ten (11 per cent) of those surveyed reported that staff shortages are already having this effect.

The survey shows 70 per cent of respondents said the school had some staff shortages as a result of the situation.

4. Schools do not have the money in their budget to cope with Covid

The NEU survey asked members if they believed their school had enough money to sustain Covid-security for the next six months.

Only 4 per cent of respondents believed this was the case, with a further 29 per cent certain they cannot survive on current funds.

More than half of leadership members surveyed (52 per cent) could not say for sure if they would be able to sustain spending on Covid safety for the next six months. 

5. Concerns pupils will not be able to access remote learning

The survey closed on Thursday shortly before it emerged that schools will now have a legal obligation to provide a remote education if pupils are absent because of Covid-19.

It shows major concerns among teachers about the proportion of pupils who would be able to learn remotely or online if they are not able to come into school.

Just 2 per cent of respondents thought all pupils in their school were in this position.

And 38 per cent of teachers thought that less than half of the pupils in their school would be ready to learn online.

What proportion of pupils do teachers think are ready to access remote education at their school?

“Our survey shows all too clearly that a lack of access to testing and the disruption of self-isolation, often due to the lack of a test result, is undermining the ability of schools to maintain fully-staffed on-site learning for all those who need it. The results also show an imminent danger that this problem will become very widespread indeed.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “It is testament to the hard work of teachers and school staff that more than 7.2 million pupils were in school last week.

“Only a small minority of pupils are currently self-isolating, in response to public health guidelines to keep us all safe. Teachers are being prioritised to access tests where they have symptoms. We are supporting the sector to deliver home education in line with what pupils would receive in school, making sure no child falls further behind.

“Schools have continued to receive their core funding throughout the pandemic, with this year marking the first year of a three-year increase to core funding - the biggest in a decade.

“We are also investing heavily in catch up initiatives aimed at all children, and particularly the most disadvantaged, including our £1 billion Covid catch up fund.”