SCOTLAND SET TO SHUT ALL SCHOOLS
Council vows to keep buildings open to support families as First Minister announces closure plan
COUNCIL bosses have said they will keep school buildings open despite classes being called off due to the coronavirus crisis. Maureen McKenna, in charge of education in the city, said her team is working on a range of contingency plans to support families.
The move comes as Nicola Sturgeon today announced that Scottish schools would close from the end of the day on Friday.
Welsh schools will close at the same time and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced English schools are to also shut.
In Glasgow volunteers will be asked to step forward to help with keeping in touch with the city’s most vulnerable families.
Buildings will also remain open to help with childcare for the children of workers carrying out vital tasks to keep the city running.
The EIS and Unison unions are being consulted on plans and digital learning will also be underway.
Ms McKenna, Executive Director of Education, said: “We’ve issued communications to all our parents and carers today to say that following the announcement from the Scottish Government today that our schools and nurseries will close at the end of the school day on Friday.
“This is a very anxious time for everyone but we want to reassure our families that we are working on a range of contingency plans to help and support them – this includes working with the EIS and Unison unions – to organise volunteers that in the first instance who will be able to keep in touch with our vulnerable families that they are doing ok.
“We are also keeping our school buildings open during this period to enable us to try and offer childcare to allow our citizens to continue to carry out vital services to keep our city running – plans are still being discussed and we will issue information on this as soon as we can.
“These are unprecedented times and we need to help people through them as best we can and this includes learning packages that will be sent home with children and our secondary schools will be discussing the learning plans with their young people – this will include digital learning where possible.”
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told MPs that schools in England would be closed from Friday until further notice for all pupils, except the children of key workers and the most vulnerable.
The decision was welcomed by teachers’ unions who have called for schools to be closed amid staff shortages – with some reported having a third of staff off sick, or self-isolating because of Covid-19.
Mr Williamson told MPs he wanted to provide parents, students and staff with the “certainty they need” as he announced the closures.
Addressing a Downing Street press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “exams will not take place as planned in May and June” after the school closures were announced.
The Welsh government said on Wednesday that all schools will close for an early Easter break by Friday at the latest, while First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced schools in Scotland will also close by the end of the week.
Stormont officials said schools are to close across Northern Ireland from Monday – with the potential to remain that way until summer.
Responding to the announcement, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said the country faces a “truly unprecedented and grave situation”.
He said: “It will not be easy, but the scale of the crisis means that many solutions will have to be tried even though they are less than perfect.”