Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Schools’ return must be safe
Now that children are officially on holiday from school, many parents are thinking about the format for their return in August.
Deputy First Minister, and Education Secretary, John Swinney MSP had been working towards a blended return of one or two days in the classroom and the remaining work as online, homebased learning.
Now, new data has shown that, as long as we follow all the guidance on social distancing and PPE, a full-time return to school is a distinct possibility.
Local councils had the plans ready for the blended model and are now looking at a full-time scheme with social distancing at its heart.
This virus is not going anywhere any time soon and if the data does not permit the full-time model to begin then the blended structure is in place until it can.
We have to think about what is best for children and staff safety as well as education. I know that plans are afoot to provide devices for children who have no digital access to use to ensure that no one falls behind, and that has to be applauded.
I have also been encouraged by the recent advisory group on economic recovery’s report to the Scottish Government. Led by Benny Higgins, the group have come up with 25 measures to help Scotland address a post-Covid-19 economy.
High on that list is a Scottish jobs guarantee. This would be a joint Scottish Government/ business initiative to tackle unemployment by refocusing skills and helping people gain training for jobs that do exist through colleges and universities.
A recommendation to invest in Scotland’s green economy, including carbon capture, energy generation and storage and heat de-carbonisation, will not only be good for the economy in general, it will also go a substantial way to lowering the nation’s carbon footprint and providing us all with a better, healthier place to stay.
Tourism is another sector that could benefit from a new approach at government level. The group feels that a reduction in both VAT and business rates for tourism companies could see the investment that the industry needs to recover and surpass the level it was at prior to lockdown.
The group also thinks that a permanent change to how and where we work would be a boost to the economy and a change to unemployment levels.
Scotland is ahead of the game in setting out these economic priorities.
Whatever lies ahead for the country, and its economy and people, I think we should all be heartened that there are big moves planned to ensure that post- coronavirus Scotland will be a place to be proud of, both fiscally and environmentally.