Pupils may have to repeat a year, say headteachers
CHILDREN may be made to stay in school until they are 17, with a year of their education effectively written off by coronavirus.
The whole of the country may need to be held back a year, due to the amount of classroom time missed, headteachers have said.
They warned the time would soon come when school leaders must ‘think the unthinkable’.
Schools have already been closed to all, except for children of key workers, for several weeks.
More than half of children are skipping online classes, according to reports last week.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she hopes pupils will return in some form before the summer holidays, as she attempts to ease lockdown measures.
But she has also warned that physical distancing restrictions, which are likely to stay in place until 2021, will limit the number that can attend at any one time.
And lockdown could also be imposed again, several more times and at short notice, if Scotland is hit by further waves of the virus.
Jim Thewliss, general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, admitted talks would need to take place about whether an entire year needs to be effectively written off.
He said: ‘There’s no suggestion of that at the moment, but who knows when we’re going back. These are the way of things.’
He warned it may be 2021 before schools get back to some form of normality, adding: ‘Then you are getting close to being out of normal schooling by, not quite a year, but two-and-a-half months away from that. These are discussions that are going to take place.
‘It’s not a live discussion yet, but you have to reflect back a few months and think what were live discussions then, and what are live discussions now.
‘The whole practicalities of holding a year back, may mean one extra year group in the school system, but we may need to think the unthinkable.
‘We have to think hugely differently in terms of the ways schools are going to be – the catch-up of those already in the system, the transition between nursery and primary, and primary and secondary. It’s a systemic thing about how schools could operate and can operate.’
The Scottish Government has launched an Education Recovery Group, led by Education Secretary John Swinney, to try to get pupils back on track. But both Ministers and teachers admit that is going to be a huge task.
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, the country’s largest teaching union, said: ‘While it is too early to predict with any degree of certainty, it is clear that schools will face many challenges once the lockdown is lifted.
‘There will be a wide range of issues that will require to be discussed before schools can reopen and operate safely.
‘Once the environment in which schools will be operating becomes clearer, it will then be possible to explore the next steps to take in supporting learning.’
Last night, a spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘As the First Minister has made clear, we do not want restrictions to be in place a moment longer than is necessary, and we have asked people to share their views on suggestions for future phased reduction to restrictions.
‘Earlier this week we published details on the measures in place to support the home-learning of children and young people during the new term.
‘The Education Recovery Group, which brings together national and local government with education stakeholders – chaired by the Deputy First Minister [Mr Swinney] – met on Friday.
‘This group will look into a range of issues, including ensuring that we are as well prepared as possible to continue children and young people’s education at school when it is safe to do so.’