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Militant union boss blocking re-opening of schools is linked to far-Left group that supported Jeremy Corbyn

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A MILITANT union boss blocking the re-opening of schools is linked to a far-Left campaign group, it can be revealed.

Kevin Courtney took part in a video call with members of the hardline Labour faction Momentum in a ploy to ­topple Boris Johnson.

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 Kevin Courtney, 60, leads the National Education Union which believes plans to get kids back to school are 'reckless'
Kevin Courtney, 60, leads the National Education Union which believes plans to get kids back to school are 'reckless'Credit: PA:Press Association
 Mr Courtney's links with the Labour extremists emerged as school plans remained deadlocked
Mr Courtney's links with the Labour extremists emerged as school plans remained deadlockedCredit: Alamy Live News

Mr Courtney, 60, leads the 450,000-strong National Education Union, which reckons plans to get kids back to school are “reckless”.

Details of his links with the Labour extremists emerged as school plans remained deadlocked. In the latest developments:

  • A senior MP claimed union militants were flexing muscles for a “summer of discontent”
  • One minister claimed teachers’ leaders were behaving as if it was the “1980s on steroids”
  • Experts warned the progress of the poorest children had already been set back ten years
  • Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was accused of being “too soft” on unions.

Mr Courtney claims to work for an “independent union” working across the political divide.

Yet he took part in the video call with Momentum days before December’s general election.

The group demanded “every teacher, school worker and parent to come together” to help ensure a Jeremy Corbyn victory.

Mr Courtney asked for those on the call to make leaflets from the controversial School Cuts campaign group and hand them out to parents on the school run. He implied the NEU was campaigning for Labour in all but name.

Tory MP David Morris reckoned: “This clearly suggests ulterior motives for stopping some teachers going back to the classroom to help our children.

“The real truth is that they want to land as many blows on the government as possible and they are clearly politicising the issue.”

Yesterday Mr Williamson issued a direct appeal for teaching unions to come up with “practical solutions”. But his softly softly approach met a furious reaction from some Cabinet colleagues.

They claim unions have weaponised the Covid crisis to recruit new members, boost wages and undermine the Tory government.

Children need to be back

TEACHER Nick says he is keen to get back into the classroom with his young pupils.

Nick John, 47, from Plymouth, Devon, said: “NHS workers have held the front line for so long and lots of us teachers will be proud to do our part to start moving towards a new ‘normal’.

“We should be able to do our bit alongside other key workers in getting society back on its feet.

“Children need routine and being in a familiar setting with their friends again will go some way to restoring a sense of normality in these very uncertain times.

“For lots of children, especially in deprived areas, schools are a safe, happy place.”

He added: “Year 6 children need to transition into secondary school and the Reception and Year 1 are at a fundamental time in brain development.

“They are arguably much harder to home school so it makes sense for those age groups to start back on June 1.

“These children have missed sports days and Year 6 will miss their proms. They’ve had residentials cancelled, tournaments postponed indefinitely, end of year shows scrapped.

“It’s our duty as teachers to give as much normality as possible to children who will be widely affected by the last seven weeks.”

He went on: “Children need to see their friends again. I’ve seen increasing anxiety levels in pupils who haven’t done so since lockdown began.

“I’ve also had worried emails from parents who’ve never had to teach anything feeling like they’re doing it wrong. They’re parents, not teachers.

“My class listen to me. My kids see me as Dad, not their teacher and it’s the same for all parents who’ve been trying to work and teach from home at the same time.”

Nick said the strict hand-washing protocols at the school before lockdown would continue.

One minister said: “Frankly, we need to be more bold and brave.

“We have to confront the unions now otherwise the next few months will seem like a return to the 1980s on steroids.”

Another source added: “We have to confront the unions now before this gets out of hand.

“They may be just flexing their muscles now but if we don’t face them down they’ll be screwing other public services and even the private sector.”

Ministers have been baffled by the silence of millionaire Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer over the re-starting of lessons.

He had said schools should be among the first to reopen. But he has not intervened since unions locked horns with the Government.

Last week, deputy Angela Rayner sent a mailshot to members urging them to join a union.

The progress of Britain’s poorest pupils has been set back a decade during the schools shutdown, it was revealed yesterday.

Since 2010, the gap in performance between the most disadvantaged and those from better-off families narrowed by ten per cent.

The gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed by 13 per cent at age 11 and nine per cent at 16 since 2011.

The attainment gap has narrowed at every stage from the early years to age 16. But experts fear these improvements will be wiped out.

 The progress of Britain’s poorest pupils has been set back a decade during the schools shutdown, it was revealed yesterday
The progress of Britain’s poorest pupils has been set back a decade during the schools shutdown, it was revealed yesterdayCredit: Corbis - Getty

They think a prolonged break from lessons will wreck life chances for hundreds of thousands.

The poorest pupils have been particularly hard-hit because they often do not have internet access.

Unions are locked in a battle over the phased re-opening of primary schools from June 1. Children’s

Commissioner for England Anne Longfield has urged ministers to stop “squabbling” as delays will be “extremely damaging”.

Labour-run Liverpool and Hartlepool councils have said they will keep their schools closed.

A survey of more than 250,000 parents found 90 per cent didn’t want to send their children back immediately after lockdown eased.

One in ten who took part in the Parentkind online survey said they would be happy to wait until pupils and staff have been vaccinated. A quarter revealed they would be happy with a return in September.

But former Education Secretary Justine Greening warned: “We can’t let coronavirus reverse the gains we’ve made closing education gaps.

We have to keep going

NURSE Bethann Siviter believes schools should reopen — and asked: “Where would the nation be if the NHS had shut its doors?”

She said: “Since the outbreak, nurses and healthcare workers have been running towards danger, not away from it.

“Those caring for people in the NHS have remained on the front line despite gruelling hours and extreme stress.

“Colleagues are often working 12-hour shifts daily without a break.

“Sadly, some died providing care. But without this willingness to step up, many more would have lost loved ones.”

Bethann, 56, of Dudley, West Mids, added: “Our unions didn’t say ‘Don’t nurse’ — they said, ‘Nurse this way, to keep everyone safe’. We were supported to keep working.

“No one wants schools to be unsafe for teachers or students, however coronavirus is something we need to learn to live with.

“Instead of helping teachers return in a safe and reasonable way, [teaching unions] seem to be playing politics. It needs to stop.”

“A levelled-up Britain needs its children back at school.”

Around 170,000 children left primary school last year unable to read at the required level.

Ms Greening called for unions to end the “classroom stand-off”.

She suggested unused offices may be turned into makeshift classrooms to help maintain social distancing.


The Sun On Sunday Says

MILITANT teachers are the first to bleat about inequalities in society.

Yet many are shamefully betraying the country’s poorest children by blocking plans to reopen schools on June 1.

Kids from deprived backgrounds have been falling disastrously behind their better-off classmates during lockdown.

Only one in five at state schools are getting online lessons at home, compared with more than half at private schools.

Years of efforts to level up the life chances of poor children may have been wiped out in just eight weeks.

As Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said at yesterday’s Downing Street briefing, they are the ones who will miss out.

Of course teachers and pupils must be safe from the virus in class, but the evidence suggests the risks are low.

Heroic nurses and other front-line workers have not hesitated to step up to the plate, and many teachers are eager to join them.

But hard-Left bosses of the biggest unions are exploiting the crisis to indulge in a political battle of wills.

Instead of rising to the challenge, they have dismally conformed to type with scaremongering and legal threats.

It is only natural for parents to be concerned — but other European countries have already reopened their primary schools without much fuss.

Our teachers must now do their bit to get our education and economy going again so the next generation has a future.

Saving the NHS was the emotional core of the lockdown. Saving our children’s future should be our focus as we come out of it.

Unity Howard of the New Schools Network said: “The great tragedy in all of this, is that kids from tougher backgrounds will suffer the most.

“That gap is now becoming a chasm and we need to get children back to school to stop it becoming even bigger.”

Yesterday Mr Williamson hinted at launching summer catch-up schools.

He said there are no plans to start the new school year in early August. But he added: “We are looking at different initiatives that we could maybe look at rolling out during the summer period.”

Unions united in militancy

Mary Bousted

NEU joint general secretary Dr Bousted, 60, OK’d cash for fact-finding trips to communist Cuba. She lives in a £1.1million London home and earns £117,000.

Kevin Courtney

Welshman has been a leading figure in education for more than 30 years. He lives in North London in a £1.3million property and earns £100,500.

Patrick Roach 

General secretary of NASUWT. In 2018 we told how the ex-university lecturer got a £7,000 London allowance, but his union HQ is in Birmingham.

 Joint general secretary of NEU Dr Bousted, 60, OK’d cash for fact-finding trips to communist Cuba
Joint general secretary of NEU Dr Bousted, 60, OK’d cash for fact-finding trips to communist CubaCredit: Rex Features
 Patrick Roach, General secretary of NASUWT got a £7,000 London allowance, but his union HQ is in Birmingham
Patrick Roach, General secretary of NASUWT got a £7,000 London allowance, but his union HQ is in BirminghamCredit: Alamy

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Gavin Williamson slaps down unions who don’t want schools to reopen warning there ‘will be consequences’


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