So when are we going back to school?

[RaraRachael]

I was under the impression that NS had announced that all schools in Scotland would start back on August 11th. I have had surveys from my local authority asking when we would like the week's holiday in lieu and if we want 1 or 2 in-service days before we start back in August.

Last night a colleague posted a piece showing all the start dates from the different authorities - some were 10th August, !1th, 12th up to the 18th and 19th.

I am totally confused

Why are they only now establishing an advisory sub group on school return?! Surely this should have been done MONTHS ago

Mebbes aye, mebbes no

How can Swinney stand up there and blatantly LIE that blended learning was always just a contingency plan? He must think we're fucking daft. We all saw the interview and heard what he said, he can't now gaslight us all into thinking he actually said something else.

The man is a complete tosser.

But ha! Good for parents!

@SockYarn

How can Swinney stand up there and blatantly LIE that blended learning was always just a contingency plan? He must think we're fucking daft. We all saw the interview and heard what he said, he can't now gaslight us all into thinking he actually said something else.

Because he is a tosser! I still can’t believe that he thought it was a good idea in the first place. Did he think parents go to work just for shits and giggles?

Brilliant news, I can keep my job! I've been saying for weeks, plan should be for full time education in August with blended learning a back up plan.

Queen Nic on it too 🙄

I'm pissed off at the number of parents on social media celebrating.

He didn't say it was a definite! It's not confirmed yet!

Don't be so naive people!

It might not happen and if it does, it might be a 10th August announcement, leaving the parents and schools all stressed again.

Absolutely, we need to keep an eye on this. I’ve lost all trust in them as a government and they’ve proven themselves to be sneaky fuckers.

Exactly...IF!! And if it's not, the public will get the blame. God forbid if we do start with blended learning in August because loads of people won't have a back up plan. I've seen umpteen posts already where people have just cherry picked info/heard what they wanted to hear. FFS 🤦‍♀️

Well bbc Scotland news headline is ‘schools to return full time in August’.

I love it - if they do go back full time, it’s an SNP victory now and not a u turn because it means they have suppressed the virus.

In all this “excitement” about schools going back, have we forgotten that there is still a deadly virus around? Look at what is happening in China, Iran and other places that thought they were past the worst.

I've not forgotten. The second spikes are very worrying.

I think Boris is moving waaay too fast, I was hoping for more gradual, and especially schools.

It is bonkers. The BBC news statement says that returning full-time is conditional on ‘stringent’ safety measures. What exactly are these, if they are not the physical distancing, hand-washing and cleaning schools have just been preparing for?

I must admit, I wasn’t expecting a total about face. Maybe the job numbers are looking really bad.

France, Germany. Denmark all going back full time. I’d love to know what is so special about Scotland that we need to consider going back at a snails pace.

@Marmalady75

In all this “excitement” about schools going back, have we forgotten that there is still a deadly virus around? Look at what is happening in China, Iran and other places that thought they were past the worst.

China very much is past the worst though. They are stamping down hard on local outbreaks so they don’t turn into big national lockdowns, which I expect we’re going to be doing here as well until there’s a vaccine. God knows what’s going on in Iran.

At any rate we can’t realistically just suspend education until the virus has gone away - the cost to children and to the country’s future would be astronomical. So if the government feels that the virus is now suppressed enough we can start planning for full-time return to school, I will indeed be celebrating.

I must admit, I wasn’t expecting a total about face. Maybe the job numbers are looking really bad.

More likely they worked out how many votes and seats this would cost them next May and that if they lose seats it kicks Indy into the long grass.

eis union issued a statement.

They say it may only be safe to return to school full time if scot gov "implement measures already being used elsewhere such as mandatory face coverings, protective perspex shields, proactive testing of teachers and an appropriate level of physical distancing between pupils and most certainly between pupils and staff"

In all this “excitement” about schools going back, have we forgotten that there is still a deadly virus around?

Not at all but infection rates have been falling steadily, we can’t stay locked down indefinitely and children will have been out of school with minimal educational support for 5 month come August. I’d much rather plan to be back full time and have blended learning as a contingency if infection rates increase again - that feels more realistic than always working on best case scenario. I need to be able to give my employer a sense of when I can resume proper working again, and I need school to be in place to do that - it’s nonsensical to plan part time schooling indefinitely when the rest of society is opening back up again. Balancing risk, education, the economy and impact on working parents is the right thing to do so yes, I will celebrate.

I'm quite happy if the blended learning pish is the fallback. Plan for the best, etc.

"Looking at" mandatory face coverings etc isn't the same as "we'll only work if we get". Stagecoach have told their drivers that they can't enforce the face coverings on public transport, and that unless it's a persistent repeat offender anyone without a mask/scarf/whatever is to be allowed on the bus regardless.

We need to move to local lockdowns too if a second spike occurs in some places - these blanket lockdowns are nonsense. Except advise restricted travel to and from high infection areas.

If everything is getting back to normal, then what about offices? Are we still to work from home?

And I can't see much of the 'new normal' in place that we've all been told is here for the long term.

John Swinney is on the radio now.

Quite a turnaround by John Swinney today. How are schools supposed to respond with two scenarios to plan for? Will parents be getting two timetables: one for full-time learning and the other for the ‘back up plan’? The schools must be running around in circles. I feel for the teachers.