First Minister says school return plan must be adaptable
The Scottish Conservatives say leaving the decision on a full-time return to the classroom until July 30th will leave families in limbo
Nicola Sturgeon says plans for pupils to return to school must be adaptable to deal with changes in the fight against coronavirus.
Children are due back in class on August 11, with the Scottish Government aiming to end social distancing and have pupils in school full-time.
Education Secretary John Swinney announced the change to full-time schooling in Holyrood this week, after weeks of instead planning to deliver a “blended model” of in-school and at-home learning.
That model remains a contingency plan if the virus is not sufficiently suppressed.
Mr Swinney said in an interview with Northsound 1 that the final decision on whether full-time schooling can go ahead could come on the July 30 review date - 12 days before schools are due to reopen.
Speaking at her daily coronavirus press briefing in Edinburgh, the First Minister said flexibility is key: “As weeks have passed and as our progress in tackling this virus has been beyond what we dared to hope it might be, we've changed the principle planning assumption to reflect that.
“If I'm standing here three weeks from now - and I should say I hope it's not the case and I have no reason to expect it will be - reporting numbers that are going in the wrong direction, then I may well be saying that we're in a different place again.
“If you ever hear me say 'here's a fixed plan that we will not change regardless of what happens with the virus', then know that I've stopped doing my job properly.
“You have to plan for the most likely scenario and then if it changes you have to be adaptable.”
She added that she has “100%” faith in the decision making of the Education Secretary.
She said the current circumstances are “not normal times”, when a change in Government policy would be open to criticism.
Ms Sturgeon added it is important to ensure the plan for blended learning is in place in case it is needed in the event of a second wave of the virus.
She said: “None of that (effort) is wasted, because I can't tell anyone with certainty that at some point over the next year, if we have a second wave of this virus, that won't be needed.
“I actually think it's really important that plan is in place should it be needed nationally, or in certain parts of the country if there is a localised surge in infection.”
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