Reimburse schools' Covid costs! Government obliged to respond after thousands sign petition

Schools have faced thousands of pounds in unexpected expenditure this year to meet mandatory safety measures such as additional cleaning, hand-washing stations, gel, ventilation systems, PPE and for remote learning.

However, so far this term government ministers have refused to foot the bill, leaving many schools in a precarious position financially. A Department for Education (DfE) grant scheme that offered support to some schools last year has been discontinued.

On top of the safety costs, schools are also being hit by a huge increase in supply costs due to increasing numbers of staff self-isolating or waiting for test results.

The issue of budgets has also been flagged up by Ofsted in its latest autumn term report, published this week. It warns that budgets in some schools have been “significantly affected due to the cost of PPE, sanitising materials and actions taken to make the school environment safe and accessible”.