SCHOOLS WARNING TO PARENTS
New term may be delayed... even after end of the holidays
SOME Scottish schools may be unable to reopen fully until later next month, parents and pupils have been warned.
Nicola Sturgeon is expected to confirm tomorrow that full-time schooling will resume from August 11 following a near five-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But council umbrella body Cosla has admitted not every school will be able to open from day one of the new term for all pupils – and it only committed to all being open by the end of next month.
Education Secretary John Swinney also yesterday confirmed that the return to the classroom is likely to happen on a ‘phased basis’ in some areas.
It adds to the uncertainty facing parents, who have already had to juggle work and childcare since schools were closed down in March.
Parent groups also warned that differing approaches in various parts of the country meant there was no ‘level playing field’ for pupils sitting exams.
Stephen McCabe, children and young people spokesman for Cosla, said there might have to be some ‘phasing’ of the return to school.
Asked how many schools had committed to full timetables immediately, he said: ‘We don’t have that information at an individual school level but what we can say is that all councils will commit to returning pupils 100 per cent to the classroom at some point in August.
‘There may well be a period of phasing in, and I think that is perfectly sensible.
‘Children and young people have been out of school for five months
‘Perfectly sensible approach’ ‘Utter disregard for these pupils’
and they are not returning to the school environment that they were operating in prior to Covid-19 – some of them are not returning to the same school.
‘I think it would be a perfectly sensible approach to take a phasedin period to allow pupils, and indeed staff, to get used to the “new normal”, which may well be a new normal with us for a considerable period of time.
‘But the feedback I’ve got at a local authority level is that they are confident that all pupils – those who in health terms are able to, obviously – will be back in school full-time in August.’
Mr Swinney said he was ‘confident’ that the Scottish Government Cabinet would be able to approve the full-time return of schools from August 11 when it discusses the issue today.
An announcement is due to be made by Miss Sturgeon at Holyrood tomorrow.
However, Mr Swinney also admitted that some councils will have different return dates. He said: ‘One of the important points about the start back to schooling which is envisaged in the guidance is that we have to take care to make sure that it is done safely.
‘So some local authorities, within reasonable limits, will undertake that on a phased basis to make sure we have a safe reopening of schools if the strategic decision is put in place to enable that to happen.’
Jo Bisset, of the Us For Them Scotland parents’ group, said: ‘On the one hand, a week ago Councillor
McCabe said pupils returning to schools full-time was “not a done deal”, so something has happened to allow him to be able to say they will return in August, and that is a big step.
‘But I don’t understand why it is that, given we have always known schools will open again, they are unable to do so uniformly across the country.’
She said some councils, such as City of Edinburgh, have already announced pupils will return fulltime from August 12, while others have said nothing to parents. She added: ‘It is the lack of uniformity on the education of pupils which is the real concern, in particular for those in exam-sitting years.
‘This is an utter disregard for these pupils.
‘These are life-changing exams for these young people and the whole point of the provision of state education is it must be a level playing field.’
Mr Swinney said ‘we should be confident’ that schools should be able to reopen on August 11.
He added: ‘As we consider the reopening of schools, it is vital that, along with our partners, we address the wider impacts of the virus on the health, wellbeing and educational attainment of children and young people, to whom we have listened carefully about their aspirations about their return to schooling.’
He said parents should be reassured that local authorities and schools are developing plans to ensure the safety of children.
The Education Secretary added that £50million had been made available to local authorities to recruit more teachers and staff, along with an extra £20million to support the practicalities of reopening schools.
Surveillance testing for coronavirus in schools throughout the country will also provide ‘an extra level of assurance’ on safety for parents, pupils and staff.
‘I know how important it is for parents to feel reassured that schools will be safe for their children, as well as places to learn and flourish,’ Mr Swinney said.
‘It is an extra level of assurance we are putting into the system to enable us to reassure parents and staff and pupils about the safety of being in the education system.’