DfE's Zero-Planning School Shutdown: Governmentâs Best Silent Lesson
Jon Coles, the head honcho of United Learning Trustâone of England's largest academy giantsâwent full chair-spill mode at the UK Covid-19 inquiry when he read ex-education secretary Gavin Williamson's jaw-dropper: no planning at all for school closures before March 2020 lockdown. According to Williamson, the priority was keeping schools open, which apparently meant preparing exactly zero for closure. Coles called this 'an extraordinary dereliction of duty,' which is polite code for 'Wow, you really missed the memo.' Meanwhile, schools were teetering daily on the brink, with planners apparently ghosting the situation entirely. This masterclass in how not to anticipate a pandemic will go down in history, or at least a snarky footnote.
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When your government treats looming school closures like a surprise party no one planned, itâs not chaos â itâs an official skill: failing forward with zero prep.
The Education Departmentâs pandemic prep plan: pretend the school closure apocalypse wonât happen until it just does. Spoiler alert: no one got an invitation to that party.
If ignoring obvious school closures was an Olympic sport, Gavin Williamson and co. would be standing on the podium with zero planning gold medals.
Source: Theguardian | Published: 10/6/2025 | Author: Sally Weale Education correspondent
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