NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union is calling for teachers and education staff to be recognised as essential workers in the Government’s National Fuel Emergency Plan, warning that current arrangements make no reference to the impact potential fuel shortages could have on schools as the war in Iran and disruption to global energy supplies continues.

An emergency motion passed at the NASUWT Annual Conference in Birmingham highlighted how the Government’s publicly available contingency plans make no reference to teachers, despite the critical role they play in keeping schools open.

The motion warned there was “no guarantee that in the event of an emergency, teachers would be prioritised, leading to school closures, rushed virtual learning plans and impact on exam years.”

It highlighted how teachers were being put under financial strain with the rising cost of diesel and that disabled teachers were disproportionately affected.

The motion calls on the NASUWT to:

• Campaign for the specific inclusion of teachers within the National Fuel Emergency Plan.
• Campaign for the government to ensure schools and colleges have proper plans in place for any such emergency.
• Increase the visibility of the benevolence fund for all NASUWT members, especially young members, supply teachers and disabled members who may be more at risk of the financial difficulties as the cost of fuel continues to increase.

NASUWT General Secretary Matt Wrack said:

“There are increasing concerns that within the next month we could see quite severe fuel shortages, particularly for diesel. The Government is of course in a difficult position and we hope there will be no significant disruption to supplies.

“But as we saw during the pandemic, teachers play a vital role in keeping schools open. If schools have to close because staff don’t have the fuel in their cars to get to work, children’s education could be disrupted severely and this could have knock-on effects for the wider economy.

“The Government needs to make sure that in its contingency plans it ensures as much as possible that any fuel shortages will not shut classrooms, disrupt pupil learning and exams or push teachers into deeper financial hardship. We want the Government to act now to ensure teachers are protected and schools can stay open.”