Swinney hands homework in late
Swinney confirms ring-fenced cash to help kids get back to school.. but questions remain
WE ARE just three weeks away from seeing pupils return to schools across Scotland on a full-time basis.
But parents, teachers and staff still don’t know exactly how the big classroom reopening is going to work.
Education Secretary John Swinney yesterday gave some more detail on the Scottish Government’s plans, but a final decision won’t be announced until July 30.
The clock is ticking and some parents are understandably getting anxious.
It’s right that Holyrood ministers consider all of the facts and not rush into making promises to youngsters it later turns out it can’t deliver.
Swinney told MSPs that Scottish schools could benefit from a recruitment drive, with about 850 teachers brought in to help with the extra burdens caused by coronavirus.
Parents’ groups have welcomed the announcement. But the question remains – why is this only being announced now?
It seems late in the day for this policy to have a real impact when schools reopen on August 11.
The suppression of the virus is continuing across Scotland, with hospital admissions falling despite the small outbreak at a Lanarkshire call centre.
Things are going in the right direction. Now parents need a final decision to help them prepare.
Many of them need to plan shifts, organise childcare and shuffle their lives to accommodate whatever decision the Scottish Government makes. It makes next week’s announcement all the more important.
BY ANDY PHILIP SCHOOLS will be handed a £50million boost to recruit about 850 teachers to help pupils cope with learning after lockdown.
Education Secretary John Swinney yesterday confirmed he has “ring-fenced” the money for the recruitment drive, which will also see 200 classroom support staff taken on.
There will also be £20million given to councils to pay for extra cleaning and support staff such as janitors.
But a parents’ pressure group and opposition MSPs at Holyrood said the plan should have been set out earlier.
Parents are now only three weeks from potentially sending children back to school on August 11.
Swinney is also under pressure to make a decision on whether schools will be full-time when they go back – or if he will fall back to the “blended” part-time model.
In Parliament yesterday, Swinney insisted the virus is being suppressed but no decision will be finalised until Nicola Sturgeon’s team of ministers meets on July 29. A decision will be announced the next day.
He said: “All of the school workforce have a crucial role to play in our education recovery mission, and it is vital that they are supported to do so.
“The ring-fenced £50million
A decision will be announced at the end of the month. Nicola Sturgeon’s Cabinet will meet on July 29 to make a decision. An earlier plan for “blended learning”, involving a part-time approach, is now the fall-back model. funding to recruit more teachers and support staff will enable schools to intensify support for children and young people as they return to full time face-to-face education and help to mitigate for learning loss.”
An earlier £100million emergency fund for the next two years was announced in June.
Swinney confirmed £50million for about 850 teachers and 200 support staff, £20million for councils to pay for cleaning and school transport and £3million in youth work to support education recovery.
Further guidance is being drawn up by the education recovery group.
Lorraine Thomson, chair of the Unison union’s education issues group, welcomed the money and said: “Without extra support for cleaners, caterers, classroom assistants, janitors, technicians and other
Unions are worried there are not enough teachers to cope with reduced classes education staff who are on the frontline fighting coronavirus, our schools will not be able to open in a way that keeps us all safe.”
However, the union also warned the funding for councils is a “drop in the ocean” for public services already facing a massive funding gap.
Jo Bisset, an organiser for parents’ campaign group Us for Them Scotland, pushed for early confirmation of a full-time return.
She said: “There were some extremely positive points in John Swinney’s statement today, and we welcome the fact everything looks set for an August 11 return.
“But parents need to know that for sure now, not less than a fortnight before it happens.
“Many parents need to plan shifts, organise childcare and plan their lives generally to accommodate whatever decision the Scottish Government makes.
“These are decisions which should have been made already, and it’s disappointing that those parents will have to wait longer for certainty.”
Scottish Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray said: “Government has never had a route map for the return of schools and they still don’t – they still look as if they are making this up at the last minute.”
Masks are mandatory in