schools – Page 32 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Pupils being driven to school at the highest recorded levels

Edinburgh: Cycling at highest recorded levels (was 4.5% in 2010, is 7.0% in 2019). Has more than doubled since the first survey in 2008, in which it was 3.3%

The percentage of pupils travelling to school by car reached its highest ever recorded level in 2019, according to new data released by Sustrans Scotland.

More than a quarter of pupils said they used private motorised transport to get to school each day, with 23.8% reporting they arrived by car – the highest level since the survey began in 2008.

And, despite remaining the most frequently reported mode of travel to school in Scotland, active travel fell to its lowest recorded level over the same period. Of the 47.8% of pupils who reported travelling actively to school, 41.0% walked, 4.1% cycled and 2.7% scootered or skated.

Cycling to school is at its highest recorded level, whereas walking to school is at its lowest recorded level.

The findings form part of the annual Hands Up Scotland Survey, an official statistic in Scotland. Funded by Transport Scotland, the survey was carried out in September 2019 by Sustrans Scotland in partnership with all 32 Scottish local authorities. 78.9% of all state schools in Scotland (excluding nurseries) took part in this year’s survey.

Bus use also continues to decline from 18.2% in 2010 to the lowest recorded level of 16.0% in 2019, whilst the percentage of pupils travelling to school by park and stride (driven part of the way and walk the rest) increased to a high of 10.2%.

The findings also reveal a difference in active travel between independent and state schools. 44.5% of pupils from independent schools are driven to school whereas 23.6% of state school pupils are driven.

Commenting on the findings Sustrans Scotland’s National Director John Lauder said: “We want to thank all the schools who took part in the 2019 Hands Up Scotland Survey.

“The report is an incredibly useful indicator of trends in how children travel to school. Helping schools, local authorities and partners identify what needs to be improved to help more children travel actively every day.

“What we have seen during lockdown, with fewer cars on the road, is that people will change their behaviour if they feel their streets are safer.

“Travel patterns will have inevitably changed as a result of lockdown. It is important we make it easier and safer for children, parents and teachers to travel in an active and sustainable way.

“Our streets cannot afford more congestion and air pollution and our children cannot afford more inactivity after months of homeschooling. Let’s bring back something better.

“We need to make it easier and safer for children, parents and teachers to travel in an active and sustainable way, once schools re-open in August.

“Only then will we be able to ensure that walking, cycling and scooting is seen as a viable alternative to the private car.”

Concerns over falling numbers of pupils with Additional Support Needs in positive destinations

Commenting on the Scottish Government’s latest statistics for leaver destinations, a spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition – an alliance of leading independent and third sector service providers – said:

“We are deeply concerned about falling level of those school leavers with additional support needs (ASN) such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems in positive destinations. This includes further education, higher education, employment and training.

“While 87.9 per cent of those school leavers with ASN were in positive destinations in 2018/19, this is a drop on 2017/18 when the figures was 88.4 per cent. For those with no ASN the figures are 95.1 per cent and 95.3 per cent respectively.

“The attainment gap between those school leavers with ASN and those with no ASN has increased from 6.9 per cent for 2017/18 to 7.2 per cent in 2018/19.

“It is deeply disappointing to see a fall in the number of school leavers with ASN in positive destinations and to note that this gap is growing when compared with those with no ASN. There is also a clear gap between the number of those with ASN who are unemployed (10.2 per cent), compared with those with no ASN (3.9 percent).

“As the impact of COVID-19 becomes more evident we anticipate this gap growing and it is crucial that resourcing is targeted at those individuals with ASN to give them the best possible opportunities, both in the classroom and beyond.

“The statistics come hot on the heels of recent evidence that the attainment gap between those school leavers with ASN and those with no ASN has increased from 7.3 per cent for 2017/18 to 7.6 per cent in 2018/19 for those with at least one pass at National 4, and from 21.8 per cent to 22.4 per cent for those with at least one pass at National 5. It has dropped from 31.9 per cent to 31.2 per cent for those with at least one pass at Higher.

“It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need in order to give them the best possible start in life, to close the educational attainment gap and give them the best opportunities possible beyond the classroom.

“This is clearly challenging in an environment of austerity, however, the cost to society in the long term if adequate resourcing is not provided will far outweigh any potential savings made today.”

First Minister focuses on return to education

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House, yesterday (Tuesday 15 June):

Good afternoon, and thank you very much for joining us again today. I’ll start – as always – with an update on the key statistics in relation to COVID-19.

29 new positive cases were confirmed in Scotland yesterday. Now I’m going to say more about the total number of positive cases in a moment, because from today we are incorporating new data into that total.

A total of 870 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. That represents a total decrease of 94 from yesterday, but an increase of 3 in the number of confirmed cases in hospital.

A total of 18 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. That is also an increase of 3 since yesterday.

And I can confirm today that since 5 March, a total of 3,909 patients who had tested positive and needed to go to hospital with the virus have been able to leave hospital.

In the last 24 hours, zero deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having COVID-19 – so the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, therefore remains at 2,448.

I would however stress – as I did last Monday – that although this is clearly hugely welcome and very encouraging, it is nevertheless common for fewer deaths to be reported at weekends and unfortunately I do expect that we will almost certainly report further COVID-19 deaths in the days ahead.

And as always, I want to emphasis that when we do report these figures, they are not simply statistics – they represent individuals whose loss is a source of grief to many. So once again, I want to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this illness.

I also want to express my thanks – as I always – to our health and care workers, and indeed to all key workers across the country. The Scottish Government and indeed I think people the length and breadth of the country are grateful to you for the work you are doing.

I’m going to focus on education in my remarks today, but before I do that, I want to highlight some new data which we are publishing for the first time today.

Up until now, we have only been able to publish testing results that come from NHS Scotland laboratories.

We have been able to report the total number of tests carried out by facilities run by the UK Government – for example drive-through centres and mobile testing units – but we have not yet been able to publish the breakdown of positive and negative results. Though I should say for the avoidance of doubt, the individuals tested have of course been notified directly of their results.

Public Health Scotland has been working with the UK Government to rectify this issue, and from today, we are able to provide daily figures for all tests in Scotland.

For example, we can see that of those people tested in the 24 hours up to 8 o’clock this morning, 29 positive cases were confirmed. Of those positive cases, 9 were from tests conducted at UK Government facilities, and 20 were from NHS Scotland facilities.

So In total, there have been 18,030 confirmed positive cases in Scotland since the beginning of this outbreak. 15,687 of these confirmed cases were tested in NHS Scotland laboratories and a further 2,343 were test through UK facilities.

Now I know that some people compare each days figures with the previous day’s very carefully. If you have been doing that, you will have expected the NHS lab number I’ve just given to be 88 cases higher than it is.

The reason it’s not is that where a person has been tested more than once – first at a UK facility and then in an NHS Scotland facility – we have removed them from the NHS figure to avoid double counting of testing.

It is also important to stress that including this data from UK facilities does not change the total number of lab confirmed COVID-19 deaths that we have been reporting throughout.

From Thursday onwards, we will be able to provide a more detailed breakdown of test results – by date and by region – on the Scottish Government’s website and I hope that this information will be helpful in giving a full picture of the progress that has been made on testing over the last three months.

Now as I indicated the main issue I want to talk about today is school education. And I want to address parents and young people very directly today. I know you are deeply anxious – as I am – about the impact of this crisis on schooling.

So I want to be very clear today about the some of the principles that we are working on and the Scottish Government’s expectations – and as we look forward to the new school year. I hope to leave you in no doubt about the priority I and the whole government attaches to making sure our young people do not lose out on education or have their life chances damaged as a result of this crisis that we are all living through right now.

So, firstly, I want to be clear that it is our expectation that, by the time schools return on 11 August – and obviously within necessary safety guidelines – councils will have put in place arrangements that maximise the time that young people spend in a school environment having face to face learning.

In this immediate period that we are in right now, the Scottish Government will be scrutinising council plans closely – and where we conclude that all possible steps have not been taken to maximise face to face teaching and learning, we will ask councils to reconsider and revise their plans.

Innovation and creativity will be required here – but let me also be clear that where there are genuine issues of resources, the Scottish Government will work with councils to address those and the quality of your children’s education will be the absolute priority in those discussions.

And then from the 11 August starting point, our aim will be to return to normal schooling as quickly as we possibly can – recognising that of course that along the way we need to build the confidence of parents, young people and teachers that schools are safe.

And I want to be particularly clear on this point. While we of course have a duty to be open with parents that none of us right now have a crystal ball, and that the path the pandemic will take in the months ahead remains uncertain, it is absolutely not the case that we are ‘planning’ for blended learning, with children learning at home for part of the school week, to last a year – or anything like it.

On the contrary, we do not want blended learning to last a single moment longer than is absolutely necessary and so we will be working with councils to return schools to normal as quickly as we can.

We want young people to be back having face to face teaching for 100% of the school week as soon as it is feasible.

To that end, our regular three-weekly reviews of the Coronavirus regulations will now include specific consideration of the evidence and data relating to transmission of the virus within schools and amongst young people – and where that suggests that safety restrictions can be lifted or eased without putting pupils and teachers at undue risk, we will do so.

As part of these reviews, we will ask our International Council of Education Advisers to consider experiences in other countries.

We will also be working with councils to ensure ongoing and enhanced support for any time that young people do spend learning at home.

And let me be clear it is our firm intention, as things stand right now, that next year’s exam diet will go ahead.

We will also be considering carefully how we work to address and mitigate and make up over time any impact of this crisis period on young people’s learning.

Ensuring that our children and young people have the highest quality education – and that life chances are not negatively impacted by what we are all living through right now – is of absolutely critical importance.

I want to give you my personal assurance that it is central to my and to the whole Government’s thinking as we plan and steer the country through our emergence from lockdown.

Before I hand over to the Chief Medical Officer, I want to end by emphasising again our key public health guidance because sticking to this guidance right now remains the most important way of enabling us to make further progress out of lockdown – which I very much hope we will do later this week.

You should still be staying home most of the time, and you should still be meeting fewer people than normal.

When you do meet people from another household, please stay outdoors, and stay 2 metres apart from them.

Don’t meet with more than one other household at a time, don’t meet more than one a day – and keep to a maximum of eight people in a group.

Wash your hands often. Take hand sanitiser with you if you are away from home.

Wear a face covering when you are in shops or on public transport.

Avoid touching hard surfaces if you can and clean any that you do touch.

All of these measure – hand washing, surface cleaning and wearing face coverings – will all help us to reduce the risk as we start to return to more normal life.

Indeed – if anything – these measures become more important, not less important, as we move through this pandemic.

I’d ask all of you to bear that in mind.

And, just as importantly, if you have the symptoms of COVID-19 – a fever; a new cough; or a loss of, or change, in your sense of taste or smell – ask for a test immediately, and please follow the advice on self-isolation.

You can book a test at nhsinform.scot or by phoning NHS 24 on 0800 028 2816.

Sticking to these rules- as you can see from the numbers we are reporting each day – has had and is having an impact. By doing the right thing, we are suppressing the virus.

We are saving lives.

And we are creating the firm foundations on which we can take further steps out of lockdown.

So my sincere thanks, to all of you once again, for continuing to abide by these rules and by this guidance.

Council announces back to school plans

Detailed arrangements are being put in place by the City of Edinburgh Council to ensure the safest return possible for pupils and staff when schools reopen in August.

Following the announcement by the Scottish Government last month, all pupils will return on Wednesday 12 August, a week earlier than programmed.

In accordance with national guidance, social distancing, hygiene regimes and risk assessments will be essential to keep children and staff safe, with the result that not all children will be able to return to school at the same time.

As such, schools are planning that 33% of their pupils will be in school at any one time. Every pupil will have a mix of teaching in school and learning at home and the days they attend will be determined by their school.

Teaching will take place from Mondays to Thursdays with all children attending for whole day and Fridays used by staff to support home learning. Limited key worker childcare support will continue throughout the week including Fridays during normal school hours.

Nursery and primary children will be grouped together to enable family members to attend school on the same days. In secondary schools, pupils will be grouped together either by year group or family group depending on the individual arrangements made by their school.

Pupils at special schools will be in for 50% of the week with the majority offering two full days in school and the rest as home learning.

Individual schools will be in direct contact with parents/carers to let them know final details of the arrangements for pupils.

Education Convener, Councillor Ian Perry, said: “The past three months have been very challenging for the world of education and I want to thank parents, carers and staff in our schools who continue to support our children with home learning and keyworker learning and childcare.

“The health and wellbeing of our children, young people and staff has been at the forefront of our planning for their return to their schools in August. We believe these plans represent the safest return to school as possible for them and in a way that best supports the quality of their learning and their safety

“We are making sure the guidance and advice from both Health Protection Scotland and Scottish Government is being strictly followed when it comes to social distancing, hygiene regimes and risk assessments – it’s essential that we keep our children and staff safe.

“This new blended model is an improvement on the current home learning arrangements, and I want to reassure parents that where possible we review, refine and improve our approach so we can maximise the proportion of in-school learning.”

Education Vice Convener, Cllr Alison Dickie, said: “School recovery lies at the heart of helping our city back on its feet, and I want to begin with a thank you to our teachers and parents and especially the wonderful children and young people of our city.

“This has been an unprecedented time for all of them and I am acutely aware of those who already faced challenges on a daily basis, and to whom school is at times a haven. They are at the heart of our plans.

“Children and young people have missed their teachers, and their teachers them. They have missed their friends and the inspiring and holistic learning environments of our modern classrooms. It’s important too that we build on the home aspect of our blended learning, so that our children feel fully connected and supported.

“Lockdown has also reminded us that learning is wider than just the classroom, and this is an opportunity to realise the full potential of community learning. From our youth workers and After School Clubs, to a range of third partners and community organisations, all have a part to play in this recovery process.”

As schools are starting a week earlier than planned, the summer holidays in 2021 will begin one week earlier, with the school year finishing on Friday 25 June.

£50 million to improve attainment in Scotland’s poorest communities

Pupils living in Scotland’s most deprived communities will benefit from targeted funding from the Attainment Scotland Fund to help close the poverty-related attainment gap.

Nine local councils with the highest concentrations of deprivation in Scotland, known as “Challenge Authorities” – Edinburgh is not among them – will share £43 million of investment from the Attainment Scotland Fund.

In addition, a further £7 million will be shared from the Schools’ Programme between 73 additional schools with the highest concentration of pupils from areas of deprivation.

Edinburgh’s share of the Attainment Fund Scotland grant is £845,595.

The £50 million is in addition to the £250 million Pupil Equity Funding package announced in May for the next two years and an investment of £9 million to provide 25,000 laptops to assist pupils learning at home.

To help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, schools and local authorities will have flexibility to redirect some of this Challenge Authority and Schools’ Programme funding from existing plans to best support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged families, with a continued focus on equity in education.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Closing the poverty-related attainment gap remains the defining mission of this Government and the challenges presented by the current pandemic mean that efforts to deliver equity in education are more important than ever.

“This funding will allow local authorities and schools to provide targeted help for some of our most disadvantaged pupils.

“I have given local authorities additional flexibility in how this funding is deployed in light of the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in. This will allow schools and councils to swiftly adjust plans and to work together to identify opportunities to undertake collaborative approaches in response to the current crisis.

“It is important that Headteachers continue to be directly involved in any decision made about the deployment of Schools’ Programme funding and Pupil Equity Funding.

“This work will be supported by our £9 million investment in 25,000 laptops and tablets to assist pupils learning at home.”

Additional information on flexibility in the use of this funding for local authorities was communicated on 15 May and can be found on gov.scot.

‘Widespread anxiety’ as schools return in England

Anxiety is widespread among school workers about their safety, their families’ and that of pupils ahead of a return to the classroom across England today, says UNISON.

UNISON has published a catalogue of concerns from support staff who make up more than half the schools’ workforce.

Teaching assistants, catering staff, administrative workers, caretakers and other school employees have told the union they are being banned from wearing protective masks, denied gloves when handing packed lunches to parents and being spat at by children with behavioural issues.

These issues are among hundreds reported to UNISON’s PPE alert web page by support staff, including many who have continued to work in schools during the lockdown.

They also include accounts of having to buy their own hand sanitiser, parents failing to social distance when they visit and working without hot water in schools attended by the children of key workers.

In separate findings, a survey by UNISON based on responses from 12,781 support staff has found that three in ten (30%) are losing sleep, suffering high anxiety or both as a result of plans to open schools more widely in England.

Only a small minority (4%) said that schools had adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

The union is calling on ministers to make schools have enough PPE to protect staff, their families and the children they look after from the risks of infection from coronavirus.

UNISON head of education Jon Richards said: “Support staff are essential to schools running properly and they shouldn’t have to feel scared about doing their jobs.

“But it’s no wonder they feel anxious and are losing sleep – and that makes for worried parents too.

“Schools need much more time to complete their risk assessments and ensure that, wherever possible, support staff aren’t being made to fill in for teachers.

“Parents need their minds putting at rest that teaching assistants, catering workers and other support staff have access to all the masks and gloves they need. Or they simply won’t send their children back.

“A delay to the reopening plans will allow unions and government the space to work together to reassure staff and families in England that the return to school can happen safely.”

Comments made by school support staff in emails to UNISON’s PPE alert include:

“I‘m making packed lunches in a primary school and also work as a cleaner (in a primary school). I have to hand over the lunches to the children’s parents each day and was told I cannot have gloves as they are a risk.”
“We’ve been told we can’t wear masks. But if a child has a first aid issue then we have to be close to that pupil to administer first aid.”
“I’m a teaching assistant working with key worker children. We have no PPE – no hand sanitiser, no gloves, nothing. We have soap but no hot water.”
“The school cannot source sanitiser anywhere so we need to supply our own and claim the money back from the school.”
“Parents aren’t maintaining distance at the door, and children aren’t being sent in clean clothes as requested. I was coughed on twice today and a child sneezed on me.”
“I’ve worked one-to-one with a pupil who on the first day spat at me. He’s aggressive and they’ve placed us in a small room together. My daughter has asthma – I’m so worried we considered sending her to grandparents until this is over. We’ve been told not to wear masks because they could scare the children.”

Outdoor learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

Funding for Virtual Nature School

Children and families are to benefit from expert guidance on learning and play in an outdoor environment during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.

Funding of £159,000 is being given to Living Classrooms to expand their Virtual Nature School programme, providing professional training and learning materials to early learning and childcare (ELC) practitioners. This will help them support the delivery of outdoor play sessions for children who usually attend their settings.

Up to 2,000 practitioners will receive training on the Virtual Nature School’s digital platform and about 20,000 families will benefit. The focus will initially be in areas of higher deprivation, where children will benefit most.

Children’s Minister Maree Todd said: “Playing, learning and having fun outdoors helps to improve children’s wellbeing and resilience, as well as their physical and mental health. It also gives children the opportunity to develop a life-long appreciation of the natural world.

“This is particularly important during the current circumstances, when we are all having to spend so much more time indoors.

“This programme will make a real difference to help families with their home learning, while maintaining a vital connection with the ELC settings and key workers that children are used to having contact with. That will help when the time comes for youngsters to return to those settings.”

The Virtual Nature School (VNS) is a non-profit programme created by Living Classrooms in response to the needs of children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The work is led by Dr Claire Warden, manager of Auchlone Nursery, Living Classrooms and Mind Stretchers Academy.

The programme currently provides home learning support to non-keyworker families, many of whom normally attend the Auchlone Nursery, where children are unable to attend settings. Sessions are delivered online, with families being supported to carry out outdoor play-based tasks and evaluate their learning.

The programme will be delivered across two eight-week cohorts.

Back to School: John Swinney publishes scientific advice

Education Secretary John Swinney has published a summary of the scientific advice behind the plans to re-open schools and Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings.

In agreement with councils, professional associations and parent representatives, all schools will return on 11 August while ELC settings such as nurseries and playgroups will open over the summer.

The plans are contingent on scientific and medical advice that it is safe to proceed and complementary public health measures, such as Test and Protect, being in place.

The paper (see below) highlights:

growing evidence that the susceptibility to clinical disease of younger children is lower than for adults
generally good evidence that the severity of disease in children is lower than in adults
the majority view of the Chief Medical Officer’s Advisory Group is that actions to support distancing guidance in schools where children are in indoor environments for extended periods of time would be appropriate, while a minority believed schools could operate without distancing

Mr Swinney yesterday updated Parliament on the work to re-open schools and ELC settings.

He told Holyrood: “School closures are considered to have a negative effect on all aspects of children and young people’s progress and development, as well as their wellbeing.

“That is why we are working to enable as many children and young people as possible to return to education and care settings at the earliest date it is safe to do so.

“The scientific evidence and advice is an important part of that decision, alongside consideration of the other harms caused by ongoing restrictions. That is why I have published a summary of the scientific evidence which has informed our discussions and decisions to date.

“The evidence around coronavirus in general, and that relating to children in particular, is continuing to evolve. Some aspects are not yet well understood – the science cannot in many cases provide us with definitive conclusions.

“The scientific advice that we have received so far leads us towards taking a cautious approach and we will continue to monitor the evidence and advice to inform decisions.”

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Scientific evidence on schools and ELC settings

EIS welcomes clarity on school re-openings – but warns challenges remain

Teachers union the EIS has welcomed the clarity provided by the planned re-opening of Scotland’s schools in August but has highlighted that significant challenges remain over managing this effectively.

The EIS has consistently called for three conditions to be met before schools re-open: full test trace and isolate capacity to be established; a programme for implementing operationally in schools all public health advice e.g. physical distancing; and demonstrable evidence that the virus is under control e.g. a lower R figure and steady reductions in new cases.

These remain the yardsticks which must be applied.

EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “The COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on schools, pupils and teachers over the past months.

“Our members will welcome the clarity provided by the First Minister’s announcement today, and the clear statement that schools will not re-open until after the summer and only if health conditions allow.

“This will provide valuable time to allow schools to prepare for what will be a very different learning environment, with physical distancing requiring smaller class sizes and schools delivering a blended approach of part time in-school learning and part time remote learning for most pupils.”

Mr Flanagan added: “The EIS has worked constructively with the Scottish Government and with local authorities throughout this crisis and will continue to do so in the best interests of learners and teachers.

“There is a strong shared commitment to protecting the health and wellbeing of everyone in the school community. Delivering a new blended learning approach is potentially the biggest curriculum challenge of this century, however, and it will require significant commitment from all parties to make it work.”

Mr Flanagan referred to the initial analysis of a recent EIS survey, which more than 26,000 teachers across Scotland responded to, which highlights some of the challenges that schools continued to face.

93% of teachers believed that clarity over how teaching and learning will be delivered in the next academic year was crucial.

77% believed that there was a critical need for adequate time to prepare for the delivery of a more ‘blended’ approach to learning – an acute challenge if staff are also supporting remote learning and hub provision.

Teachers also warned of some of the challenges associated with home learning, particularly for those pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The majority cited digital poverty as a barrier for pupils: 63% cited the lack of access to suitable technology and 57% the lack of internet access at home as issues creating barriers for pupils.

Scottish schools to return on 11th August

Safe return planned through mix of school and home learning

Pupils will return to schools in August subject to scientific advice that it is safe to do so, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has confirmed.

Schools will return on 11 August, one week earlier than planned for most pupils, while Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings will open over the summer.

An agreement reached between councils, professional associations and parent representatives means:

schools will implement physical distancing measures, such as providing seating that is two metres apart and staggering arrival, departure and break times
increased hand-washing or use of hand sanitisers, enhanced cleaning, robust protocols for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases and ongoing risk assessments will be implemented
class sizes will be significantly reduced as a result of the new way of working, with most pupils spending around half their time in class and half learning at home. Time in school will increase further as soon as it is safe to do so
teachers and other education staff will return in June – subject to appropriate safety assessments being completed – to prepare and plan for the new way of working and welcoming pupils back
existing ‘hubs’ will continue to run to provide vulnerable children and those of key workers with childcare over the summer
the school estate will be expanded where necessary and possible by using libraries, community halls, leisure centres, conference venues or taking short-term leases of vacant business accommodation to increase the time children can spend with their teachers
innovative use will be made of existing teachers and staff and, where necessary, consider the role former teachers can play either by returning to the classroom or teaching virtually to support in-home learning

To maximise the time pupils can have in the classroom and support children in the new model of schooling, including digital home learning, the Scottish Government is investing £9 million for 25,000 laptops or tablets – with internet access provided – for disadvantaged children as part of the first phase of provision to support their learning outside school.

Working with local authorities, a second phase of investment will see further funding to support digital inclusion.

Education Scotland will also deliver new national digital learning resources to support schools’ own arrangements for children and young people.

Mr Swinney said: “In reopening Scotland’s schools, our overriding priority is ensuring the health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff and giving parents the confidence schools are safe.

“Subject to public health guidance, teachers and other school staff will be able to return in June to prepare for a new model of learning from August. Comprehensive health and safety guidance will be in place prior to staff returning to school.

“This is not, however, a return to schooling as we knew it – schools are not returning to normal at this stage.

“To keep our pupils and staff safe we will implement physical distancing, staggered arrival and departure times, staggered break times, increased hand hygiene, enhanced cleaning regimes and a range of other measures

“That means a new model of teaching, learning and support will have to be delivered. Precise details will vary from school to school but for the vast majority, classes are going to be much smaller to allow physical distancing and, as a result, children are likely to spend about half their time learning at home.

“To maximise time in the classroom, we will work with local authorities to expand the size of their school estate where that is possible by using outside space, libraries, leisure centres, community halls and anywhere else that can safely be made to work.

“And, with classes being split in two or even in three, we will examine whether we can expand the number of teachers by asking those recently retired to return.

“In all of this, we recognise that some pupils will need extra help, particularly those who don’t have the technology at home to learn effectively.

“That’s why we will provide an initial tranche of 25,000 free laptops – bundled with a free internet connection – to pupils who need it. Education Scotland will support digital learning through new national digital learning resources that will bolster schools’ own arrangements for children and young people.

“We don’t know how long schools will have to work this way, just as we don’t know how long Coronavirus will be a threat. As long as that is the case, school life will feel quite different to before COVID-19.

“We have a mission to make this work, to educate Scotland’s pupils and, above all, to keep them safe. Working with our teachers, school staff, and councils this plan gives us a way to do that.

“We can safeguard our children’s future and get them learning alongside their classmates again. This plan will do that and get our young people safely back to school.”

COSLA Children and Young People spokesperson Councillor Stephen McCabe said: “In planning for a return to face to face schooling the safety of our children, young people and staff is paramount.

“In preparing for this we have been acutely aware of the impact that not being in school has on our children and young people, particularly those who are most vulnerable. The wellbeing of all of our children and young people is at the heart of everything we do.

“A key part of this agreement is that local authorities will have the flexibility to plan and deliver a return to education which suits local circumstances and takes the needs of all of the children, young people and parents in their area into account.

“Where it safe to do so and the scientific advice allows, local authorities will also have the flexibility to bring some children back to school in June with a particular focus on those at the key transition points of P1 and S1.

“This has been developed with key partners in education. To make sure we get it right for all of our children at this challenging time we will continue to work closely together.”