DfE failure to plan for Covid school closures was ‘extraordinary dereliction of duty’, academy head tells inquiry

Jon Coles tells of shock at lack of planning by government and says it was ‘perfectly clear’ schools would likely close

The leader of one of the largest academy trusts in England has described the Department for Education’s failure to do any planning for school closures before lockdown in March 2020 as “an extraordinary dereliction of duty”.

Jon Coles, the chief executive of the United Learning Trust, told the UK Covid-19 inquiry he nearly fell off his chair when he read a statement from the former education secretary Gavin Williamson, in which he said there was zero planning for closures because the priority was keeping schools open.