Scottish first minister Sturgeon “will not act recklessly” on reopening schools, she said this afternoon as she came under pressure on education from her political opponents.
But Ms Sturgeon also said today that schools may be able to open with “nearer normality” in August, depending on how successful efforts to suppress coronavirus have been.
She insisted that the Scottish government would be guided by the scientific evidence, and would “not compromise on safety”. But she also said that “if we can suppress the virus sufficiently, and have other measures in place, nearer normality may be possible”.
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At First Minister’s Questions this afternoon, she said that while the government was having to “contingency plan” to open schools with physical distancing, “because that’s what the evidence tells us right now is required”. But it was also considering “alternative measures that we might be able to put in place to allow schools to operate safely as normal”.
Her initial comments came this morning after public health expert Devi Sridhar tweeted if cases of coronavirus are low enough, schools should “reopen as normally as possible” when they return on August 11.
The University of Edinburgh professor, who is part of the Scottish covernment’s Covid-19 expert scientific advisory group, said: “If Covid-19 numbers can be brought low enough in Scotland by 11 August (under 20 confirmed cases) & with appropriate ‘test and protect’ policies, my personal view is that schools should re-open as normally as possible (kids back full-time & able to play/interact together).”
Ms Sturgeon responded by tweeting: “Right now (like other UK nations), we must plan for a school model based on physical distancing.
“But as @devisridhar says, *if* we can suppress virus sufficiently & have other measures in place, nearer normality may be possible. It’s why we must stick with plan to suppress.”
The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats all homed in on education at First Minister’s Questions today, after the debate intensified this week over issues such as next year’s Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) exams and how schools will reopen from August.
Tory leader Jackson Carlaw said that other countries were “moving heaven and earth” in their attempts to reopen schools but argued that the Scottish government was not. He argued that the possibility of opening up schools to pupils on a full-time basis from August should not be ruled out.
Labour leader Richard Leonard called for more detail on the government’s plans for reopening schools, saying that so far it had only published a “starting point for blended learning”.
Children and parents were being “left behind”, said Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, as it was unclear - ahead of the school summer holiday starting for many at the end of next week - who would care for their children.
Ms Sturgeon said the government’s approach to such issues would be “methodical”, that public health remained paramount, and that she “will not act recklessly”. But she also said she would “move heaven and earth” to get children’s education “back to normal as quickly as possible and help them to “catch up on missed education”.
