Impact of fuel supply issues on schools – Sector Response

Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:

“Despite Government assurances to the contrary, the continuing impact of shortages on fuel station forecourts is expected to cause serious difficulties for the provision of education.

“Following many months of disruption, it is now of the utmost priority that the Government takes steps to ensure that schools and colleges remain open and that teachers and education support staff are able to get to work.

“For many teachers, the use of public transport is simply not an option, with many schools in areas that are not easily accessible other than by using private vehicles.

“The Government must urgently consider making teachers a priority group for access to locally available petrol and diesel fuel supplies.

“Without such intervention, many teachers will struggle to get to their places of work on time, adding to the daily uncertainty and disruption faced by children and young people.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“So far, we are not hearing that fuel supply issues are causing major problems for schools, but if shortages go on much longer it is possible that children and teachers could find themselves unable to get to school – there could be problems with transport for special schools in particular.

“The last thing children need is further disruption to education given the experience of the last 18 months. Prioritising key workers is not a sensible solution as it would be impossible to enforce and could cause more chaos on the forecourts. The only real answer is for the government to do everything in its power to get fuel to pumps and bring this situation to an end.

“Schools will of course do everything in their power to minimise any disruption to education as the week goes on. But the government does need to get a proper plan in place to get deliveries moving.”