Surge in virus means schools ‘unlikely’ to open on January 18
SCHOOLS are ‘unlikely’ to reopen on January 18 following a surge in coronavirus cases, teaching union leaders have warned.
Education Secretary John Swinney faces growing calls to further extend the school holidays and to introduce blended learning across the country.
So far ministers have insisted they will stick with the current plans, though they are keeping this under review.
Mr Swinney has extended the holidays by a week, with schools to use online learning from January 11 before classrooms reopen to children from January 18.
But yesterday Educational Institute of Scotland general secretary Larry Flanagan warned this would be disastrous, with children, teenagers and teachers returning as the virus spreads at its fastest rate yet north of the Border.
On the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Flanagan said his support for the reopening of schools was ‘entirely dependent’ on the level of infection in communities.
He added: ‘At the moment the indicators are that the 18th would be a very unlikely restart date for school buildings.
‘Schools will be open in the sense of remote learning being in place, but we’ll have to keep it under review.’
He said: ‘ There seems to be increasing evidence of the role of young people in the transmission of this new variant. That was evident in Kent and in London when they looked to close schools pre-Christmas.
‘If we have easier transmission through particularly the teenage population, then reopening schools where there’s not physical distancing among young people would be a recipe for disaster. It would simply accelerate the transmission of infection in the wider community.’
He warned the figures show the ‘new variant has taken hold in Scotland’, adding ‘ schools can only reopen safely when we have effectively suppressed community infection levels’.
Last night the Conservatives called on the Scottish Government to introduce further testing for staff and teachers in an effort to get schools open for face to-face learning.
Scottish Tory education spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘Pupils have had much disruption to their learning this past year, so the SNP must pull out all the stops to maximise faceto- f ace teaching and make schools safe places to be. If that means easier-to-access mass Covid testing for school staff and teachers, then so be it.
‘If there are further plans to keep children at home then parents will reasonably expect a reason why and want to know the decision i s being made based on clear scientific advice that the new strain of the virus is posing a specific threat to young people.’
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman rejected calls for teachers to be given priority for vaccines. She said: ‘Some teachers will come into that priority group
‘It would be a recipe for disaster’ ‘Pupils have had much disruption’
because of their age, or because they have underlying health conditions.’
But she said experts had been ‘really clear’ over the priority groups, adding: ‘Age is the greatest risk factor and that’s why their priority group works on the basis of age, as well as bringing in those who have a clinical vulnerability because of their health condition.’
Most schools south of the Border are due to reopen on Monday after the festive break.
But Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said on Wednesday some sites in areas with the highest Covid rates will remain shut for most pupils until January 18.