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The current UK fuel crisis has resulted in the cancellation of school buses and calls on teachers to be a priority group for petrol and diesel as staff struggle to get to school.
An education union has warned that the continued impact of fuel shortages “should cause serious hardship” for schooling.
A principal, who gave her name only as Michelle, told LBC that her students and staff are struggling to get into the school due to fuel shortages plaguing the country.
“Unfortunately yesterday I couldn’t drive one of my buses because we didn’t have diesel,†she said on the radio Tuesday morning.
“I had about fifteen children whose parents had to be contacted to come and pick them up at school. These parents themselves did not have a lot of fuel in their cars.
She said the bus was also not running on Tuesday morning. “My students all have special educational needs, so they need to be educated,†the principal said.
On top of that, Michelle said some of her staff either couldn’t make it to school or were “really stressed out” to get to work.
In Buckinghamshire, the local council said there were “a number of school buses canceled” on Tuesday due to fuel shortages.
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused,” he added.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said: “The lingering impact of shortages on gas station forecourts is expected to cause serious difficulties for education provision.
He called on the government to ensure that schools can remain open and that staff can access them. vehicles, â€he said.
Dr Roach urged ministers to “urgently consider” making teachers a priority group for fuel.
“Without such intervention, many teachers will find it difficult to get to their workplaces on time, which adds to the uncertainty and daily disruption that children and young people face,†he said. .
But another education union warned that prioritizing essential workers for fuel could cause “more chaos” at the pumps.
Paul Whiteman of the NAHT Principals Union said: “The last thing the kids need is more disruption of education given the experience of the past 18 months.
“Giving priority to key workers is not a sensible solution because it would be impossible to apply and could cause more chaos on the forecourt. The only real answer is for the government to do everything in its power to get the fuel to the pumps and take this situation to the next level. to finish.”
He said the union does not intend at this point to see fuel supply issues causing major problems for schools.
“But if the shortages continue, it is possible that children and teachers will find themselves unable to get to school – there could be transport problems for special schools in particular,” M added. Whiteman.
Deborah Lawson of Voice Community said The independent the current fuel crisis was a “big concern†for his education union.
“We are seeing many stories of key workers such as teachers or nurses who cannot get fuel for their cars which means they cannot get to or are late for their essential work.”
Ministers said on Monday that soldiers were on standby to deliver fuel, as the shortage of tanker drivers threatened the ability of oil companies to maintain supplies.
It came as many gas stations dried up after drivers rushed to pumps, fearing that a shortage of tanker drivers could affect supplies.
A government spokesperson said: “The best place for children and young people is to go to school with their teachers and friends.
“We are aware that some gas stations have had to temporarily close in response to localized demand spikes, but this is not in response to a national shortage as there is a lot of fuel in refineries and terminals.”
They added: “The government recently announced a package of measures announced to help ease temporary pressures on the supply chain, including an immediate increase in heavy-duty testing, short-term visas for heavy-duty drivers. and new training to train up to 3,000 additional people to become truck drivers. “
Additional reporting by the Press Association
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