Talks on pupils returning to school start up
Council meets with headteachers
EARLY discussions which could see Glasgow school pupils returning to class by August have been initiated between the City Council and their headteachers.
Primary, secondary schools and nurseries across the country were closed in March to prevent further spread of coronavirus. It was unclear at the time when the decision would be reversed.
But a source has told the Glasgow Times that children may be able to go back to school shortly after the summer holidays are due to end in August, with social distancing measures still in place.
The council has said that no decision on a return to school date has been made and talks with school staff are at an early stage.
It is understood that portacabins, which would be used as additional learning areas, could be build in playgrounds and multi-use games areas (MUGAs) and classrooms set up in community centres.
Our source said: “Glasgow City Council has been looking at ways to get pupils back to school.
“Kids could possibly be in class three days a week or one week out of three.
“Extra classrooms would need to be set up to help social distancing measures to be continued.
“Glasgow has short, medium and long-term projections for children back to school.
“There is also the option to delay the P1 intake until January, but these options might change for each council.
“It is interesting to me that EIS, [Educational Institute Scotland] has said that there will be no fulltime schooling for the foreseeable future.”
The trade union has said when schools reopen, physical class size limits will need to be cut dramatically in order to comply with social distancing and other health guidelines.
They have stressed that pupils will not be returning to full-time inschool learning in the near future.
“Therefore, a blended approach, with some continuation of remote learning being in place, is inevitable.
The EIS is of the view that an August return is most likely, although late June has not been ruled out completely by some other trade unions. Planning effectively for the new circumstances, also requires time.
They believe that schools, colleges and universities, should not be physically reopening until getting that a comprehensive “test trace and isolate” capacity is in place to prevent a spike in infection and there is demonstrable evidence that the spread of infection is under control.
The local authority is planning to reach out to parents and carers in the next seven days to answer any questions they may have about their child’s education.
A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “It’s at a very early stage but we’ve started to have initial discussions with our headteachers across the city on how we can get children and young people back into our schools as we deal with the current health pandemic. “No decisions have been taken and we will explore a variety of options that will suit our different school communities and by following the national guidance and advice on timescales.
“The city’s education director, Maureen McKenna, is planning an engagement with parents and carers over the next week or so to help ease anxieties, answer queries and help shape the plan to re-connect our schools and families.”