'Kick in the teeth': Shropshire teacher slams Hancock and Williamson comments

Secondary school teacher John Boken believes the content of messages from the former Health and Education Secretaries is "insulting" to those in the profession.

Mr Hancock had 100,000 WhatsApp messages, mostly from his time leading on health during the most devastating health crisis in living memory, by journalist Isabel Oakeshott - the writer of his Pandemic Diaries book.

Among those messages were an exchange between Mr Hancock and Mr Williamson, then the Government's education chief,

Mr Hancock messaged Sir Gavin to congratulate him on a decision to delay A-level exams for a few weeks, as teachers prepared to reopen schools after the first lockdown.

"Cracking announcement today. What a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are," Mr Hancock wrote.

Sir Gavin replied: "I know they really really do just hate work."

Mr Hancock sent back two laughing emojis, and a third which showed a dart on the centre of a target.

Sir Gavin later added:"'Some (schools) will just want to say they can't [open] so they have an excuse to avoid having to teach, what joys!!!"

Mr Boken, district branch secretary for the National Education Union and an IT teacher, said: "It's a slap in the face to suggest teachers don't want to come to work. We do this job because we love being in the classroom and working with the kids. It's a kick in the teeth and really insulting.

"I've met a lot of people who are going to be really upset by these comments."

Since the messages were revealed, a spokesman for Mr Hancock said: "These are partial accounts, obviously spun with an agenda. They show Matt was focused throughout on saving lives. The right place for a full assessment is the inquiry."

Sir Gavin tweeted that his comments had been "about some unions and not teachers", adding: "I have the utmost respect for teachers who work tirelessly to support students.

"During the pandemic, teachers went above and beyond during very challenging times and very much continue to do so."

Talking about how things worked with virtual lessons, Mr Boken said: "It was a nightmare (during the pandemic). We had kids saying they couldn't get online because my brother or sister is online, or their parents might have been working at home and there's not enough bandwidth for everyone.

"We missed having that face to face contact, and the kids have suffered. Last year was our first full year back in the classroom but you can still see the effects the pandemic has had on the kids.

"It's a national picture that there are more behaviour issues. Kids had a lot more freedom at home. They are used to being able to get up and move around when they're working from home so it's hard for them to get used to being in the classroom. They find it a lot harder to get back into the old ways and to focus in class.

"For the kids, working from home was a nightmare. They wanted to be socialising with their friends. It will have affected their mental health."

Teachers have been striking in recent weeks in a dispute with the Government over pay and conditions. The next strike dates are March 15 and 16 for the NEU, and teachers from Shropshire will be travelling to London for a demonstration on Budget Day, March 15.

Any Shropshire teachers who wish to join the march can book a coach seat via tinyurl.com/M15demo