Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister announced that all schools will reopen on 11 August and teachers would return to school towards the end of June to prepare for the new term. See details below.
- Recovery Route Map
- Strategic Framework Reopening Schools
- John Swinney, Deputy First Minister’s statement regarding the reopening of schools.
These arrangements were not agreed with the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers(SNCT) and will be part of the negotiations with teacher unions in the coming days. The SNCT will be issuing guidance on the contractual implications of the decision to reopen schools. It is clear that teachers should not suffer any detriment as a consequence of a change of school holiday dates in terms of such contractual entitlements such as annual leave and pension entitlements. The SNCT guidance will cover all these issues and the details will be implemented at Local Authority level. It will also be expected that members who have outstanding commitments during expected school holidays will have those commitments honoured.
The SSTA view is that schools can only reopen and operate safely if there are significant operational changes in place to ensure effective social distancing, strong hygiene routines linked to thorough cleansing practices, appropriate PPE available where required, and ongoing risk assessments in place to monitor operations. This will mean that as schools cannot reopen as normal, a phased return will be required and priorities established around attendance, which is likely to be part time for most pupils. Therefore, the 11 August should be regarded as an aspirational date for the reopening of schools.
The existing Scottish Government guidance to ‘Stay at Home’ and work from home where possible remains in place and this will be a major factor in any arrangements for teachers returning to school towards the end of June to prepare and plan for the new way of working and welcoming pupils back. The existing SSTA advice remains in place and will be updated in the light of SNCT guidance. If you, or a member of your household, have an underlying health condition, or are a part of a vulnerable group, you must work from home. Members should only attend work if you have been assigned a specific child caring responsibility within school and given advice on procedures to be followed.
Finally
- Please follow the Government guidelines
- Follow the SSTA on Twitter
- Contact info@ssta.org.uk if you require further advice
- #StayHomeStaySafe
