Covid at two more schools
Fears raised over safety measures in classrooms
More than a third of Renfrewshire schools say there are “obvious deficiencies” in Covid-19 safety measures in classrooms as a further two schools confirm cases.
Gleniffer High School, in Foxbar, and St Anthony’s Primary, in Johnstone, have both identified Covid-19 positive cases in the past 48 hours.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said students who had been in close contact with the infected person at both schools had been asked to self isolate, while insisting it was safe for all other students to attend as normal.
But Renfrewshire’s largest teachers’ union has told the Express that 33 per cent of its local representatives have reported “obvious deficiencies in the covid protocols which are in place” within their schools.
The Education Institute of Scotland (EIS) conducted a survey of all of its teaching representatives in the country.
In Renfrewshire, it found a shocking 85 per cent of respondents said class sizes in their schools had not been reduced to support physical distancing.
A further 60 per cent of those working in secondary schools said the timetable had not been adjusted to minimise movement of pupils.
They said initiatives to support “stable pupil groupings”, such as double period timetabling and register class groupings, had not been implemented.
The findings have been dubbed “worrying” by EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan.
“The results of our survey of school reps make for worrying reading,” he said.
“It is clear that class groups are still too large to facilitate effective physical distancing measures, potentially placing staff and pupils alike at greater risk of covid infection.
“While this is an issue in all schools, it is a particularly acute concern in the secondary sector where older pupils are at a greater risk of developing symptoms and of spreading the virus.”
He added: “Teachers and pupils have a right to work in a safe and secure environment.
“The most effective means to ensure this is through physical distancing, which will require smaller classes and an increased number of teaching staff.
“Local authorities and the Scottish Government must act urgently to step up the deployment of the additional teaching staff required to ensure that all schools can operate safely in the weeks and months ahead.”
Parents of children attending Gleniffer High and St Anthony’s Primary were informed on Thursday evening that Covid-19 cases had been confirmed at the schools.
It is understood an S3 pupil at Gleniffer High had tested positive for the virus, but this has not been confirmed by health officials.
These recent cases bring the tally of Covid affected schools in Renfrewshire to six.
The others include Todholm Primary, in Paisley, Wallace Primary in Elderslie, St James’ Primary, in Renfrew, and Castlehead High School, in Paisley.
A spokeswoman for Renfrewshire Council said: “We have worked extremely hard with headteachers, school teams and our health and safety colleagues to ensure our schools are safe for everyone.
“Guidance on robust hygiene and safety measures is being strictly followed and we will continue to work with our school community and trade unions to make sure everyone feels safe and confident in their environment.”
She added: “We are very aware of how challenging this situation has been for everyone involved, and if a member of staff has concerns, we are here to support them.”