Teachers want facemasks to stay to protect against Omicron in schools
EIS survey shows support for keeping kids covered-up
The majority of Scottish teachers say they want to keep protections in schools as scientists sound warnings about the ability of the Omicron variant of coronavirus to spread much faster.
The Educational Institute of Scotland's survey of its members found 55% support for facemasks to be retained all through the winter, with only 6% wanting them to no longer be required in secondary schools.
Larry Flanagan, the union's general secretary, said: "The emergence of new variants such as Omicron, coupled with the higher risk of illness during the winter months, will only increase the risk of Covid infection spreading through school communities."
Ventilation fears
The poll of more than 16,000 teachers across Scotland also found that 30% did not believe their working space was well ventilated to combat the risk of Covid-19 spreading.
Less than a third of teachers (32%) believed their school had a procedure in place to raise concerns about inadequate ventilation.
According to the survey, 47% of teachers felt "very safe" or "somewhat safe" in schools with current mitigations. Some 19% told the union they "felt neither safe nor unsafe".
One school has already been forced to shut because of a suspected outbreak of the Omicron variant.
Todholm Primary School in Renfrewshire is expected to reopen on Monday after it had to close for five days.
Two class groups in P1 and another in P2 were placed into self-isolation and, "due to the difficulty in operating the school with reduced teaching and support staff and maintaining an appropriate staffing level for the school", there was no other choice but to shut it, Renfrewshire Council said in an email to parents.
Teachers working flat-out
"Case numbers remain high, and we have recently seen at least one school being compelled to close its building and move to online learning as a consequence of high rates of Covid illness," Mr Flanagan said.
"Teachers continue to work flat-out, in the face of the continuing Covid pandemic, to ensure a quality learning experience for young people.
"It is clear, however, that the threat of Covid has not gone away and also that teachers remain concerned about the potential risk to pupils, staff and their families. Councils and the Scottish Government must listen to and act upon the concerns expressed by teachers."
About two-thirds (67%) of respondents said regular coronavirus risk assessments have been carried out by councils, although another 23% did not know if risk assessments had been carried out.
A Scottish Government paper has raised alarm with its worst-case projection that cases could reach as many as 25,000 every day by December 20.
According to scientists' projections, in the best-case scenario there would be 1,250 new infections a day.
Government wants to keep schools open
On Friday First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would "bust a gut" to ensure schools remained open amid a surge in cases.
"I can't stand here and say that no class will be disrupted and no school will have periods of disruption - what I am talking about here is what we had before, which is 'blanket schools are closed'," she said
"Nobody wants that. I will bust a gut and do whatever - even if people hate me for asking adults to do more than they want to do - to keep schools open in that general sense."
Analysis by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found two doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines provided "much lower" levels of protection against Omicron when compared with the Delta variant.
But the UKHSA said preliminary data showed vaccine effectiveness "considerably increased" in the early period after a booster dose, providing around 70% to 75% protection against symptomatic infection.