Rethink over school reopening plans welcomed by Borders council chief

Schools in the region and the rest of the country are now getting ready to reopen their doors to pupils without any physical distancing on Tuesday, August 11, if the current coronavirus outbreak continues to remain under control, deputy first minister and education secretary John Swinney told the Scottish Parliament.

That decision marks a U-turn as Mr Swinney had previously been proposing so-called blended learning, involving pupils spending half their time in classrooms and the other half learning at home.

Those plans had been a cause of concern for some parents, employers and education chiefs, also prompting calls by opposition MSPs for a less cautious approach.

Today’s change of heart is down to “significant progress” having been made in controlling the spread of the virus since schools were shut and lockdown laws imposed in March, according to Mr Swinney.

His rethink has been welcomed as a “sensible decision” by Scottish Borders Council leader Shona Haslam.

The Tweeddale East councillor said: “I warmly welcome this statement from the deputy first minister. It is long overdue.

“I pay tribute to the thousands of parents who have been calling on and writing to the Government on this over the last few weeks.

“I have been calling for clarity so that councils can plan with a clear knowledge of what is expected.

“We will now move forward to ensure that our young people can return to school full-time from August 11.

“I know that many worried parents, including myself, are breathing a huge sigh of relief that finally the Scottish Government has come to a sensible decision about this.”

A council spokesperson added: “The council has been working in line with all Scottish Government guidance on the planned reopening of schools on August 11.

“We expect to be in a position to provide further details of our plans to parents later this week.

“Like Mr Swinney, we hope that coronavirus will be suppressed sufficiently to allow the safe reopening of schools fully by this date.”

Schools had been facing difficulty in working out how to bring pupils back in August while maintaining the current 2m physical distancing rule, leading to the blended learning plans now sidelined.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon has ordered officials to review whether the distancing rule can be relaxed in some circumstances, as is to be done in England and Northern Ireland.

Mr Swinney said his previous blended learning plans will remain on the drawing board as a contingency measure in case a second wave of Covid-19 cases follows the current easing of lockdown laws.

He said: “Back in May, I frankly would not have imagined we would have made as much progress in virus suppression as we have.

“It is this more positive outlook that allows the Scottish Government to make this change in planning for schools.”

Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk MP John Lamont has expressed relief that Holyrood ministers have abandoned their original proposals, saying: “I am glad that the Scottish Government has come to its senses and U-turned on this.

“There was an almighty outcry from parents about the original plan, and I am glad that this will now just be a contingency.

“Teachers and Scottish Borders Council have been working really hard to keep students learning at home since the start of lockdown. However, I am sure they will be relieved to hear that they will return after the summer holidays.

“This is a much better outcome for our children.”

Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, agreed, saying: “This embarrassing U-turn from the Scottish Government was brought about by the successful Scottish Conservative ‘Open Our Schools’ campaign.

“Parents have been rightly furious at the lack of clarity and vacuous responses from the Scottish National Party.

“Last week, public health expert Devi Sridhar said there was no reason why schools could not return full-time in August if coronavirus continues to be suppressed, but some Scottish schools are planning to offer only nine hours of teaching a week. That’s not good enough.

“Parents are fuming and want answers from this SNP government.

“A whole generation of children are at risk of being left behind.”

Fellow Borders MSP Christine Grahame applauded Mr Swinney’s announcement too.

The Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale MSP said: “Thanks to the united effort of people here in the Borders, and across Scotland, who have stuck to government advice, we have now made significant progress in the fight against Covid-19.

“I’m absolutely delighted by today’s announcement that if we stay on the right path and continue to suppress this virus, our young people can return to school full-time from August.

“This is an important step not only in ensuring our young people get the education they deserve, but it’s also positive news for working families.

“I want to send my gratitude to our amazing teachers and school staff in the Borders who have helped us get to this stage.

“There’s a lot of work ahead of us, but the Scottish Government is working hard to support families and communities across the country.”

Mr Swinney has also announced an extra £100m in funding over two years to help children return to school and “recover any lost ground”, and he promised that £30m would be spent on laptops for the nation’s 70,000 most disadvantaged pupils amid concerns about the impact of home learning on the attainment gap.

He said: “I must emphasise the importance of Scotland staying on track if we are to make it a reality.

“We must continue to ensure the safety of pupils, teachers and staff by engaging in such contingency planning, and that is why inspectors of education will continue with their scrutiny of the plans when the latest versions are submitted by local authorities tomorrow.

“Even with a return to full-time education, it is imperative that we increase levels of digital inclusion, which is why we have already committed to a huge digital boost through the investment of £30m to provide laptops and connectivity solutions for disadvantaged children and young people.

“This will include £25m of funding to enable a rollout of digital devices to school pupils to enable them to study online.

“While we want to support the wellbeing of all our children and young people, we know lockdown has been particularly difficult for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Reducing the poverty-related attainment gap is a defining mission for this government. We will therefore be working alongside partners to increase support to those families and communities who need it most.”