Schools warned not to let pupils return to finish their classwork

SCHOOLS that had planned to stay open have been told they must not allow senior pupils to go in today to complete coursework.

Perth and Kinross Council and Stirling Council had said its schools would be open to pupils in S4, S5 and S6 who want to complete coursework, and that school transport would still operate.

Some other individual schools had also told parents they would remain open despite the Scottish Government announcing last week that schools would close across Scotland to the vast majority of pupils.

Nicola Sturgeon yesterday announced guidance stating that no senior pupil could attend school to complete coursework. She said: ‘We simply cannot have too many people in our schools and nurseries and, because of that, I want to announce a further change to the advice that the Deputy First Minister set out last Thursday on the completion of coursework for young people taking SQA National qualifications. This change comes about because of the escalation of public health advice around social distancing that I set out on Friday.

‘With immediate effect, no young person with coursework to complete should attend school to do so. Where coursework can be completed remotely then these arrangements will be put in place by schools.’

In a social media message on Saturday afternoon, Perth and Kinross Council had said that its schools would be open to only specific groups, including ‘pupils in S4 to S6 who need to complete coursework’.

It also said ‘all school transport will operate on Monday until it is established which children will be attending school’.

Stirling Council had said schools were due to open today to ‘allow S4-S6 pupils and teaching staff who were fit to attend to complete exam coursework’.

However, following Miss Sturgeon’s announcement, the council yesterday said in a statement: ‘All Stirling Council schools will be completely closed to all pupils as of Monday, March 23. The decision follows an announcement from the Scottish Government today.’

Education Secretary John Swinney had set out that some children of ‘key workers’, such as doctors and nurses, would be able to attend school buildings.

Yesterday, the shopworkers’ union Usdaw and the Scottish Retail Consortium wrote to Mr Swinney asking for shop workers to be included, as is the case in England, so they can ‘make sure the nation continues to be able to access the essential medicines, cleaning/sanitising products and food supplies they need, particularly elderly and vulnerable people’. However, Miss Sturgeon yesterday rejected expanding the number of children who could attend schools to let their parents go to work, saying the priority must be protecting people from the virus and protecting the NHS.

She said: ‘The same message applies to all those who want to send their children to school tomorrow, and to those businesses asking that their employers be designated key workers.’

Miss Sturgeon said the number of children taking up childcare places must be kept ‘to an absolute minimum’.

‘Further change to advice’