More calls to shut schools

Headteachers say their staff are exhausted and anxious as they keep up the pressure on the Scottish Government to close schools in parts of Scotland where cases of coronavirus are increasing at the fastest rate.

The EIS has published new papers highlighting teachers' concerns which include difficulties with social distancing in classrooms.

The country's latest teaching union has reiterated its calls for the Scottish Government to consider blended learning - where youngsters learn remotely from home for part of the school week.

General secretary Larry Flanagan said: "Our members want to be in schools working with pupils - but they also want pupils and staff to be safe.

"The Scottish Government's rejection of remote or blended learning for schools in areas with high rates of infection has increased the level of risk for pupils, teachers and their families.

"It is time for the Scottish Government to rethink this damaging policy, with the danger of increasing rates of community infection throughout the winter months.''

No face coverings and overcrowding

The report says face coverings are "not being worn consistently'' in secondary schools where senior pupils and teachers are required to wear them, and fears from some that case numbers in schools are not being recorded accurately.

One teacher said: "It is a pretence to say that Covid protections are fully in place.

"Many senior students do not wear masks and we often end up herded together in pinch-points like corridors as students travel from one class to another.''

Another secondary school teacher said: "We are seen as expendable. We are teaching so, so, close to pupils of all year groups with no social distancing and no protection - except a simple mask when present with upper school pupils.

“We are finding staffing incredibly challenging. I currently have 50% of my teachers off"

"I'm worried I'm going to catch Covid and suffer serious health complications just for going to my job.''

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted it is "right'' that schools stayed open, citing new reports from Public Health Scotland as backing up the Scottish Government's stance that schools should remain open.

The First Minister, speaking at her regular coronavirus briefing, said the figures show "almost two-thirds of schools have not had any pupil cases of Covid''.

Around 620 children aged between two and 17 are currently diagnosed with coronavirus every week in Scotland - a rate of 70 per 100,000 children, Public Health Scotland found.

At the peak of wave two, it said "around 11% of schools had one or more children diagnosed with Covid each week'' - with this amounting to around a third of secondary schools and one in 12 primary schools.

Speaking about the impact of the virus on school staff, Ms Sturgeon said the experts had found "no evidence of any difference in the risk of hospitalisation for teachers when compared to the general population''.

No increased risk for teachers

She said the risk of severe Covid-19 "actually seems to be lower in teachers than in the population as a whole''.

While she stressed the Scottish Government will "continue to listen very carefully to the concerns of teachers and others'', she added the reports support the view it has been right for schools to remain open''.

She added: "I never will seek to underplay how difficult and stressful a term this has been for pupils, for parents and for all teachers, school leaders and staff.

"But notwithstanding that, the findings of these reports underline what a very good and important job all of these people have done.''

She said it had been a "particularly stressful time'' for teachers and all those working in schools, telling them: "My thanks are with you.''

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• coronavirus