Councillor David Hopkins is calling for the government to offer on-site, free flu jabs in the autumn to all school-based staff, teachers and support staff.
Cllr Hopkins is also Chair of governors at St Marys Church of England Wavendon Primary School in his home community of Wavendon and knows first-hand how disruptive the impacts an outbreak of flu among school staff can have on a school.
"I am a governor at two city schools, chair of one, and whilst this has not been as bad a flu season as was at one stage predicted, I know the challenges senior teaching staff face covering for absent colleagues waylaid by the flu virus and associated medical complications," he said.
"Schools across Milton Keynes and beyond are already operating under enormous pressure to deliver results in everything from academic achievement to pastoral care – we need to do all we can to ensure continuity of teaching all year round."
One of the most high-risk places to work in terms of exposure to the flu is within a school setting, where staff members and children congregate in close proximity, giving the virus ample opportunities to spread on surfaces like doorknobs and devices as well as through the air in coughs and sneezes.
This year’s strain, although not as widespread as feared, brings with it particularly serious symptoms.
"I have received feedback that many schools across the city have been impacted by flu as staff absence forces department heads to spend hours rearranging timetables," Cllr Hopkins added.
As a result, and to stop a repeat of this disruption year after year, he is calling for the government to put in place arrangements for all school-based staff to be included with those groups who are entitled to receive free flu vaccinations every autumn
Cllr Hopkins also believes that obtaining a flu vaccination in the autumn boosts morale, giving teachers and all staff at our school the confidence to step into winter knowing they are prepared.
