High schools to drop 2m distance rule
Social distancing in secondary schools will be relaxed when pupils return full-time after easter.
Deputy first minister John Swinney said just 0.1 per cent of high school students returned positive results in widespread tests as older students and teachers returned.
Social distancing between pupils in secondary schools will have to be relaxed when pupils return full-time after Easter, deputy first minister John Swinney has said.
Speaking to the Scottish Parliament’s education committee, he said that just 0.1 per cent of high school students had returned positive results in widespread asymptomatic coronavirus tests as older students and teachers return to school, as he reiterated plans that all children would return to full-time in-school learning after the Easter break.
Updated ventilation and outdoor learning guidance will be published to enable school staff to prepare accordingly, following a meeting of the Covid-19 Education Recovery Group.
Mr Swinney said: “A return to full-time, face-to-face schooling in the secondary sector would require for all pupils a removal of the two-metre physical distancing requirement in a classroom setting and that is the assumption on which a full-time return to school is based.”
He said physical distancing between adults would remain and added the full return would be confirmed on 6 april.
Mr Swinney said: “At present, we know that the proportion of primary school and early learning childcare settings with incidents remains low.”
He said more than 56,000 staff and 12,000 pupils took a test in the week ending 7 March. He said since the programme began five weeks ago, just 0.1 per cent of cases have been positive.
Mr Swinney said there would be an “enhanced range” of summer activities for children, but that he did not believe extending the school day or term would be supported, adding he believed doing so would be “counter productive to the educational journey of young people”.
This is in stark contrast to the plan by the Westminster government, which has pledged £700 million of funding for a catch-up programme for children in England who have faced disruption due to Covid-19, including a programme of summer schools for secondary pupils.
Mr Swinney said he was “nervous” about the concept of school catch-up, adding that teachers had told him that young people had “learned a great deal” as a result of lockdown.
The education secretary said Covid measures would be likely to continue into the new school year in August. Asymptomatic testing is also set to continue, with a continued need for social distancing between teachers.
Mr Swinney said the “plan B” if new variants of coronavirus arose, sparking a rise in cases, would be to return to remote learning, but insisted his proposal was to get children in school as early as possible.
He also said technological devices needed to be rolled out more widely in schools in the future. The Scottish Government bought 25,000 devices and delivered them to local authorities at the beginning of he pandemic, while 70,000 students in total have been supported with devices and connectivity packages while learning at home.
Mr Swinney said: “I think the pandemic has exposed that we need to have a more comprehensive solution in place for learning purposes. For me, digital devices and connectivity are the jotters of the 21st century.”
The government’s Covid-19 Education Recovery Group will continue to meet weekly through the election campaign period.
Mr Swinney also said children are to be offered an enhanced range of summer activities to help them deal with extended periods of isolation due to Covid-19.
He said the activities will aim to provide opportunities “to connect and socialise”, with further support provided where needed.
He also told the education committee that the Scottish Government is providing £19.4 million for a mentoring scheme for young people.
The six-year scheme will see a network of volunteer mentors – drawn from business, civic society and the general public – offer tailored support to young people through schools as lockdown eases.
Mr Swinney told MSPS: “I do not underestimate the extent to which children and young people have experienced disruption to their daily lives as a result of the pandemic, nor to the physical and mental health impacts of lockdown.”
He added those impacts “may have fallen unequally across society”.
He said: “I am pleased to tell the committee we intend to provide a n enhanced range of summer activities for children and young people in order to address the impacts associated with extended periods of isolation and reduced participation in normal activities.
“This offer will have children’s rights and needs at its heart, and will seek to provide opportunities to connect and socialise, while accessing a range of activities, combined with broader supports where needed.”
On the mentoring programme, developed by charity MCR Pathways, he said: “Improving the education and life chances of all our children and young people is the defining mission of this government, which is why we are funding this mentoring support package that will enable young people to reach their full potential.”
The mentoring scheme will be carried out in partnership with local councils that wish to take part, and will form part of the Scottish Government’ s Young Person’s Guarantee.
Graeme Mcewan, chief executive of MCR Pathways, said: “We are absolutely delighted that the Scottish Government is supporting the expansion of theyoungscottishtalentmentoring programme to thousands more inspiring young people across the country.”