The permanent secretary of the Department for Education expressed her strong belief that her team could have successfully implemented widespread Covid testing in schools to prevent a second wave of closures in January 2021, as revealed in today’s Covid inquiry.
Susan Acland-Hood, who became the permanent secretary at the DfE in September 2020, provided testimony to the Covid inquiry today, which is currently examining the pandemic’s impacts on children and young individuals.
She echoed the concerns of former education secretary Gavin Williamson regarding the cancellation of a national Covid testing initiative for schools in January 2021, coinciding with Downing Street’s decision to close educational institutions once more.
Acland-Hood also remarked on the peculiar situation of Williamson and other DfE officials not participating in critical discussions when schools were closed in March 2020 and January 2021.
Moreover, she highlighted that the DfE was receiving “conflicting messages” from both Downing Street and the Treasury concerning its recovery strategy following Covid.
Here’s a summary of key points discussed at the inquiry today.
‘We would’ve executed it’
During her testimony, Acland-Hood outlined how the concept of Covid testing sites for schools began to take shape ahead of January 2021.
On December 10, 2020, the DfE and the Department of Health and Social Care agreed to the establishment of a testing site in every school, which would only be necessary for students and teachers who had tested positive recently.
However, the DHSC aimed to expand this initiative to require all secondary school students to be tested twice during their first week back, with weekly tests thereafter.
Acland-Hood conveyed her confidence in the initial plans but noted that the additional requirements would complicate matters significantly. “We were asking something that felt deeply unreasonable to schools,” she stated, adding, “But we agreed to undertake this larger task if keeping schools open necessitated it.”
As of January 4, 2021, she reported that lateral flow tests had been delivered to 97.2 percent of schools across England. Despite this preparation, Downing Street opted to close schools.
Acland-Hood articulated, “We faced rapidly changing and very demanding challenges, and our team rose to meet that challenge magnificently. I firmly believe that had we followed through with the original plan, we would have executed it proficiently.”
Williamson testified the previous day that he too was optimistic a national Covid testing strategy would facilitate keeping schools operational in January.
Nevertheless, the department faced significant criticism regarding its handling of other essential Covid responses, including free school meal vouchers, the national tutoring program, and laptops for students.
‘Odd’ that DfE wasn’t present
Acland-Hood also echoed Williamson’s frustrations about the DfE’s exclusion from important decisions impacting schools.
While Acland-Hood stated that the DfE “had a strong voice,” she acknowledged that for a few critical decisions that directly influenced children, it was “strange that the department was absent during those discussions.” This observation specifically pertained to the school closures in March 2020 and January 2021.
She elaborated on the department’s level of preparedness for quick responses to the pandemic, noting, “Initially, it was assumed that the principal stakeholders in the room would be those responsible for the health risks—the Department of Health… the DfE doesn’t have many direct risks; instead, we manage significant societal implications stemming from those risks.”
Covid catch-up funding
Acland-Hood indicated that the DfE was also receiving inconsistent messages from the central government regarding Sir Kevan Collins’ Covid recovery strategy.
Collins had advocated for a funding package estimated at around £10-12 billion, which the Treasury reported as “unrealistic,” while Boris Johnson allegedly sought “truly ambitious” proposals.
Ultimately, Collins resigned from his position after five months following the allocation of only £1.2 billion by the DfE.
Yesterday, the inquiry unveiled a profane WhatsApp message from Gavin Williamson to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wherein he expressed feeling “screwed over” by school closure decisions and lamented having his “legs cut from under me” by the hiring of catch-up czar Collins.
Additionally, last week, CEO of United Learning Trust Sir Jon Coles accused the DfE of a “failure in duty” due to its lack of readiness for the pandemic.
