Scots schools crisis ‘must be tackled before SNP ministers disappear for summer break’

● Pressure grows for emergency statement after expert warns that ‘blended’ learning will widen attainment gap for pupils

The Scottish Government is facing calls for an emergency statement to be made this week in Holyrood on the crisis facing Scotland’s schools as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown.

It comes after a leading expert warned that the “blended” learning plan will increase the attainment gap between richer and poorer parts of the country. Former first minister Lord Mcconnell warned the situation could be worse than then exams fiasco of 20 years ago.

The Scottish Conservatives have demanded that SNP ministers appear in front of Holyrood before the summer recess next weekend to address the issue.

“It’s clear Scottish education is now facing an unprecedented crisis,” Tory education spokesman Jamie Greene said.

“We cannot have a situation where this SNP government disappears for the summer without it being addressed.

“Last week epitomised the confusion and mixed messaging over plans for schools, with local councils saying one thing and the First Minister and John Swinney saying another.

“It shouldn’t take opposition parties demanding debates to resolve this – it should be the SNP Government pro-actively listening to parents and coming to parliament with a plan.”

Lindsay Paterson, professor of education policy at Edinburgh University, warned at the weekend that the attainment gap between Scotland’s richest and poorest pupils will be made five times worse by December under the plans for combining school and home learning. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants pupils to return to normal schooling as soon as it is safe.

Following the holidays, schools are expected to reopen on 11 August in a blended learning model, involving some pupils attending classrooms for as little as one day a week.

Prof Paterson said: “We know from research that most of the inequality in children’s progression at school happens during the summer holiday when they are not attending classes.

“Scotland’s complete school lockdown from March to August will therefore have imposed three-and-a-half years of inequality in the space of less than half a year.

“The total effect of the lockdown, plus part-time schooling to December, would be equivalent to imposing five years of inequality in less than a year.”

Keir Bloomer, one of the

Professor of education policy architects of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence, added: “For disadvantaged learners this is an educational catastrophe.”

He added: “Participation in worthwhile learning at home has been shown by research to be very disappointing, with the disadvantaged faring worst. This has happened during a period when teachers have been largely free of class contact and able to devote time to support both children and parents.

“From August, they will be teaching again. The time for supporting home learning will largely disappear.

“What has happened over the past 12 weeks has been ineffective.

“In August it will be much worse. ‘Blended learning’ will be no more than a cynical euphemism for part-time schooling.”

Lord Mcconnell said not having pupils in school fulltime from August could cause worse damage than when 2,000 pupils were given the wrong exam results in August 2000.

“Twenty years on and we face an educational crisis that could damage another generation even more deeply. And the class of 2000 are among the parents of 2020, but they are now fighting for their kids,” he wrote in a newspaper article.

“This is a crisis every bit as serious as the threat to health in March and the threat to jobs from lockdown. The UK and Scottish governments mobilised on a scale never seen before to save lives and protect jobs. They must do the same now for full-time education.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We recognise that the disruption and challenges caused by the pandemic are hitting children from disadvantaged backgrounds particularly hard and we have been encouraging schools to target support where it is most needed.

“We are providing local authorities and schools with flexibility to redirect resources aimed at closing the attainment gap.

“This includes the announcement of £250 million for pupil equity funding over the next two years.”

She said 25,000 laptops and internet access worth a total of £9 million are going to disadvantaged children.

“Scotland’s complete school lockdown from March to August will have imposed threeand-a-half years of inequality in the space of less than half a year.”

LINDSAY PATERSON