SCOTLAND’s largest teaching union has demanded the Government include the possibility of schools being closed in the new tiered framework of local alerts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Last week the First Minister confirmed her administration was considering putting a return to remote or blended learning in the framework.
However, when the measures were published the intervention was not included – despite other countries such as New Zealand leaving the closure of schools a possible measure that can be taken.
The omission has appeared to have angered the EIS who have now written to Education Secretary John Swinney and all the party’s education spokespeople in Holyrood ask him to think again.
The letter highlights that “the EIS shares the ambition for schools to remain open wherever possible, as long as this can be done safely for both pupils and staff,” but warns “concerns have deepened considerably as the level of community infection has risen sharply.”
The letter goes on to say, “The safety, and health and well-being of teachers requires specific consideration – an aspect significantly underplayed in the Framework.
“It very much appears to our members that the Government has made a political priority of keeping schools open and in that calculation, teachers can be regarded as expendable.”
It continues: “In particular, the default position at Level 4 that schools are fully open when clearly we need to be looking at blended or remote learning as contingencies, seems to the EIS to be predicated on political messaging rather than controlling the spread of infection.”
MSPs are to debate and vote on the framework today.
Meanwhile, a leaked document yesterday suggested North and South Lanarkshire may be placed in the highest level of Scotland’s new coronavirus tier restrictions from next week while Glasgow and Edinburgh will be put on second-highest level, according to a leaked letter from the Scottish Government.
Both parts of Lanarkshire have been identified as areas where there is a “level of concern”, according to the document sent from the Government to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) which was then given to local councils. New restrictions are set to come into force across Scotland next week.
Different local authority areas are being placed into different alert “levels” depending on the prevalence of the virus.
The letter suggests that the other areas in the central belt – including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayrshire and Forth Valley – will continue to have existing restrictions imposed and will be on Level 3.
No final decisions have been made, and local authorities will discuss the restrictions in the coming days with the Scottish Government. The new rules will come into force from Monday, November 2.
The Cosla letter leaked to the Scotsman reads: “Because of the severity of the impact of the measures in the highest level, Level 4, ministers will only consider using it if necessary.
“The data currently indicates that level of concern for two areas: Level 4 is being considered for North and South Lanarkshire.”
In the last week, South Lanarkshire has been identified as the area in Scotland with the highest number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, recording a seven-day rate of 375.3.
It added: “No changes are currently being considered in relation to other central belt areas. If that remains the case and is confirmed later this week, these areas would remain in Level 3 for the time being.
“There are some signs in the data of progress in the east of the central belt area, for example in Edinburgh and East Lothian, but some further consolidation of that progress is likely to be required before it would be safe, on public health grounds, to move them to Level 2.”
Other reports suggested the Scottish Government is planning to place both the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway into Tier 2 of the system, while Dundee city could move into three. No areas in Scotland would be placed in the lowest level 0.
Scotland recorded one death from coronavirus and 1122 positive tests in the past 24 hours, Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday as she told the daily briefing the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – has risen to 2701.
She said 57,874 people have now tested positive. There are 1052 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, up by 36 in 24 hours. Some 90 patients are in intensive care.
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