Senior pupils to wear facemasks during class in level three Covid areas

Parents are being told to wear face coverings when dropping off and picking up their children from primary schools to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Changes from Monday also mean S4 to S6 students will have to wear masks all day in lessons and when moving around.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney made the announcement at today's daily briefing, where it was confirmed 28 more people had died after testing positive for Covid.

He said: "The evidence suggests that there's slightly higher infection and transmission risks for people around the age of 16 to 17, so the use of face-coverings is an additional precautionary measure in areas where there's an increased incidence of the virus.

“Keeping schools open remains our priority but that can only be the case if schools are safe. There have been tremendous efforts applied by staff and pupils to ensure this is the case and I thank them all for their efforts.

"We constantly review the guidance on school opening along with our local authority partners, trades unions, parental representatives and other stakeholders to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to ensure our schools are safe. This strengthened guidance, produced in light of updated scientific and health advice, adds to the health mitigations that have been in place since schools opened in August."

The Scottish Greens are welcoming the announcement - but want the Scottish Government to go further.

The party's education spokesperson Ross Greer said: “This is an overdue but welcome step, which the Scottish Greens called for in June, but it cannot be seen as a substitute for a system of regular testing available to for staff and senior pupils.

“Teachers were promised their health would be protected by robust social distancing, despite it being obvious that this would be impossible in most school settings. And they were told that ‘enhanced surveillance testing’ would be fully operational by October, but the Scottish Government still won’t confirm if that’s the case.

"School staff deserve far more protection than they’re currently getting. It’s time for ministers to look again at the eight proposals the Greens produced in June, including regular testing in schools.”

Guidance for school staff and pupils at the highest clinical risk (shielding) has also been updated.

At Level 3

parents or guardians should discuss with their GP or clinician whether children with the highest clinical risk should attend school

employers should ensure that individual risk assessments for school staff members with the highest clinical risk are in place and updated appropriately, and staff should speak to their employer to ensure all appropriate protections are in place. If protections cannot be put in place, they can discuss with their GP or clinician to see if a fit note may be appropriate

At Level 4

the current advice is that children on the shielding list should not attend school in person. However, we will look further at how we can use individualised risk assessments to maximise attendance for such children during Level 4 restrictions

the majority of workplaces can be made safe for staff. To ensure this remains the case, employers should ensure that individualised risk assessments for school staff members with the highest clinical risk are in place and updated appropriately, and staff should speak to their employer to ensure all appropriate protections are in place. To provide reassurance on this, the Chief Medical Officer will issue a letter similar to a fit note which can be used in the few cases where, following updating of risk assessments and discussions with employers, it is not possible to make a workplace safe for staff

greater levels of testing in response to COVID-19 outbreaks in schools may be recommended by the Incident Management Team

PE in school settings should only take place out of doors

Non-essential activities or clubs outside the usual school timetable should be paused. This does not include regulated childcare operating from school premises

Other changes in the guidance reflect updated advice from the COVID-19 Advisory Sub Group on Education and Children’s Issues. Members concluded that indoor PE may now be brought into line with advice outwith school settings, with appropriate safety measures in place. This does not apply to indoor PE in schools in Level 4 areas.

Mr Swinney, who's also urging kids not to go guising over Halloween, said: “It is vital that all the measures are followed rigorously in schools. Doing that – together with the collective efforts of all of us across wider society ­– will help to ensure that schools can safely remain open.

“None of the levels in the framework require any automatic move to school closures or blended learning. However, no one can predict what the coming weeks and months will bring. Remote learning remains an important contingency for schools at all levels of the strategic framework and there has been considerable progress made in the provision of remote learning, should that be required.”

Hear all the latest news from the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland on the hour, every hour, at Radio Borders. Listen on FM, via our Radio Borders app, online at Radioborders.com, or say ‘Play Radio Borders’ on your Smart Speaker.