Hansard

I welcome the opportunity to update Parliament on the phased reopening of schools and early learning and childcare settings in Scotland, as set out in “Coronavirus (COVID-19): framework for decision making—Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis”.

I start by expressing my appreciation to all those in the Scottish education system for their commitment and efforts during the pandemic. Education staff have gone to great lengths to sustain learning and teaching, and to support the wellbeing of young people and their families, and parents and carers have contributed significantly to the education of children at home since the lockdown began.

I want especially to thank the children and young people of Scotland for their resilience during these difficult days, and to assure them that we are listening carefully to their concerns and hopes about how we plan the way ahead. We are again reminded that the children and young people of Scotland are a credit to our nation.

Last week, we published the strategic framework for reopening schools and early learning and childcare settings. It was developed by the Covid-19 education recovery group, which has brought together the Scottish Government, local authority partners, trade unions, parent representatives and other stakeholders. Collaborative working has allowed all stakeholders to share their knowledge and experience, and to build the widest possible agreement as we plan the way ahead.

The framework is designed to achieve safe reopening of schools, and provides consistency and equity in a national approach for children and young people, which is underpinned by local planning and delivery. A suite of supporting guidance will also be published to cover the practical issues that local authorities and learning settings must consider when developing local arrangements. It will include implementation measures, models of curriculum and assessment, wellbeing support and delivery of early learning and childcare. It will also include specific considerations for each sector, based on the health evidence that is relevant to each age group.

I have written to local authorities to ask them now to prepare local phasing delivery plans. There cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach to implementation, given the different contexts in which individual local authorities and schools operate. Flexibility within clear and consistent national guidelines will provide an essential balance between equity and localism.

Decisions that will be made regarding the reopening of schools and ELC provision must be consistent with Scotland’s framework for decision making and the latest scientific advice. We will continue to be guided by the national improvement framework, our shared vision of excellence and equity for education in Scotland, the getting it right for every child policy and other legal requirements. I am aware that school closures are considered to have a negative effect on all aspects of the progress and development of children and young people, as well as their wellbeing, which is why we are working to enable as many children and young people as possible to return to education and care settings at the earliest date on which it is safe to do so.

Scientific evidence and advice are important parts of that decision, alongside consideration of the other harms that are caused by on-going restrictions. I am therefore publishing today a summary of the scientific evidence that has informed our discussions and decisions to date. The evidence around coronavirus in general, and that relating to children in particular, is continuing to evolve. Some aspects are not yet well understood—the science in many cases cannot provide us with definitive conclusions.

Our consideration of the scientific advice that we have received so far leads us towards taking a cautious approach. We will continue to monitor the evidence and advice and we will use them to inform decisions on further changes to restrictions. The research and evidence base is changing and growing quickly, and we will build in an appropriate mechanism and capacity to review our approach, as it evolves. That will include learning from the experience of other countries, including experience in other parts of the United Kingdom, as they begin to reopen their education settings and children’s services.

I am grateful to the Covid-19 advisory group for the work that it is doing to advise us on our strategy for reopening schools and early learning and childcare settings. The majority view of the advisory group is that it is necessary to consider actions to support physical distancing guidance in schools and in other situations in which children are indoors for extended periods of time. It follows that almost all children and young people across Scotland will experience a blend of in-school and in-home learning from 11 August 2020. That will bring benefits, including an earlier return to school for many, and the ability of all learners to engage with weekly in-home learning tasks.

I expect that that will apply to all pupils except those who are unable to attend because they are following the latest public health guidance. We will ensure that pupils in that category are catered for so that there is no detriment to their learning experience.

Those safeguarding protocols will be kept under constant review, and the time that is spent in school will be increased further as and when it is safe to do so in working towards full-time in-school learning for all.

Education Scotland is providing nationally available learning materials to support in-home learning and to augment and support schools’ own arrangements. That includes consideration of children and young people with additional support needs, and of other families who are most in need of support.

In-home learning takes many forms and is by no means all based online. I recognise that some pupils will need extra help, particularly with home access to technology. That is why the Scottish Government is working with local authorities and schools to identify families in need and is initially investing £9 million to provide 25,000 free laptops or tablets, with internet access included if it is required. That is part of the first phase of our £30 million commitment to support digital learning outside school through provision of appropriate devices.

The phased return of pupils will need consideration of the emotional, physical and mental health and wellbeing of learners. School leaders will need time to work with the school community to explain local approaches and to provide reassurance and support to learners and families.

The implementation of physical distancing will impact on the capacity for in-school learning within a specific setting. Initially, schools should assess the maximum number of pupils whom they can safely accommodate at any one time while maintaining a positive learning environment.

We want to maximise the time that children can spend with their teachers and their peers, so we are calling on local authorities to expand the size of the learning estate where possible. That could include use of community facilities or vacant office accommodation, subject to health and safety considerations and risk assessments. We are also working with the General Teaching Council for Scotland on plans to call on registered teachers who are not currently teaching or are recently retired to consider returning to work to support children through the blended learning model.

Local authorities and schools should use those capacity assessments plus knowledge of their local circumstances to determine the optimum pattern of in-school attendance. In keeping with our belief in equity, it is right that they will also consider the needs of different groups of learners. Access to education and childcare for children of key workers will continue to be provided.

There will remain an important role for assessment, in supporting progression in learning, during the phased return to schools. The Scottish Qualifications Authority will continue to develop plans to deliver the 2021 exam diet, and it will provide further advice to ensure that arrangements are in place to capture on an on-going basis the learning outcomes of young people in the senior phase in the 2020-21 school year.

In early learning and childcare settings, and for the youngest primary school children, it would not be desirable for children’s wellbeing were we to implement strict physical distancing between young children or between a child and a key worker.

Alternative age-appropriate public health measures, building on expertise that has been developed across Scotland in delivering critical childcare, will be put in place. Childminding services and outdoor nurseries will be able to reopen when we move into the first phase of our managed relaxation of lockdown restrictions. We are working with the childcare sector, the Care Inspectorate and public health advisers to prepare guidance in advance of their reopening. Other types of childcare provision will reopen over the summer. It might be that fewer children can be accommodated in each setting, so capacity will be prioritised.

The timetable for reopening services will take account of the lead-in time that is required to bring staff off furlough. The framework for ELC provision will safeguard the financial sustainability of services across all sectors. To ensure on-going provision for vulnerable children and the children of key workers, critical childcare will continue throughout June and the summer break. As recovery progresses, use of childcare hubs might reduce as more children return to their familiar settings. To prepare for August, teachers and other school staff should return to schools in June, when it is decided that it is safe to do so. Health and safety guidance, including risk assessments, must be in place prior to their return.

I am mindful of the impact of lockdown on many of our most vulnerable children. Local authorities have been asked to increase the numbers of children attending critical childcare provision, and there will also be a focus on supporting children at key transition points, which could include some in-school experience in late June.

I look forward to working with all partners to monitor and review continually the support that is in place, and to ensure that children and young people’s wellbeing and learning are prioritised in these challenging times. We have a mission to make that work, to educate Scotland’s children and young people and, above all, to keep them safe. That approach, working with our teachers, school staff and local authorities, gives us a way to do that. We can safeguard our children’s future and get them learning alongside their classmates again.