By Bill Heaney
Unless the R rate for Covid-19 drops rapidly from its current figure of around 3 to just 1 or less, which could change matters dramatically, West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute education authorities will be proceeding with their latest plans to get children back to school on August 11. These include keeping the 2m guideline in place.
There is likely however to be a significant wave of parent pressure and political horse trading with the staff trade unions – the EIS, UNISON, UNITE and the GMB – and local politicians before before what looks like being a long hot summer filled by proposals and counter-proposals.
Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton Constituency, which includes Vale of Leven, Helensburgh, Cardross, and Lomond, has written to West Dunbartonshire Council to raise the concerns of local parents and teachers as the Council announces its plans for pupils returning to school.
The local authority has announced there will be a blended learning programme which will see primary school pupils returning to the classroom for two days a week.
Pupils in S1, S2 and S3 are only guaranteed one day a week, with pupils in S3, S4 and S5 guaranteed two days a week.
The rest of the time, pupils are expected to continue working from home and carrying out work that they are given on their weekly visit to the classroom.
Parents have grave concerns that this programme does not do enough to support both pupils educational attainment and their mental well-being.
Pupils have now been learning from home since 23 March with parents being encouraged to oversee their learning – many of whom are also working from home themselves.
Parents have contacted Jackie Baillie looking for answers as to why their children are being offered such little face to face contact with teachers.
Jackie Baillie said: “This is a particular concern as other local authorities in Scotland have announced plans which will see pupils returning to school for much more time each week.
“Furthermore, West Dunbartonshire’s plans include a programme which sees pupils in school on certain days one week but not the next.
“Parents have said this inconsistency has left them unable to forward plan, seek childcare or return to the workplace themselves.”
Jackie Baillie has raised the need for leadership and guidance from the Scottish Government and additional resources for local Councils to enable them to bring children back into school for more time and to support teachers and other education staff.
The MSP said: “The plans that West Dunbartonshire Council has announced are well short of what is required.
“I am disappointed that there is no leadership from the Scottish Government, little guidance about what to do and not a single penny of additional resources to make this work.
“The fact that pupils are only able to return to the classroom for a guaranteed two days – after already spending months working from home – will surely have a negative effect on their learning and attainment.
“Parents have been left unable to return to their own workplaces due to the inconsistent plans and there seems to have been a distinct lack of genuine communication and consultation with parents as these plans were formulated.
“West Dunbartonshire Council has a duty to educate local pupils as well as taking precautionary measures for pupils and staff.
“They should take these plans back to the drawing board and work out a way to better support pupils. And the Scottish Government needs to give them the resources to do so.
“I will continue to speak up for parents, pupils and teachers until they feel they are given the support that they need. We must ensure that we are not causing the attainment gap to widen and weaken overall levels of attainment. Our young people deserve better than this.”
Cllr Karen Conaghan, Jonathan McColl and Yvonne McNeilly.
Cllr Jonathan McColl, leader of the SNP administration on West Dunbartonshire Council, and his colleague Cllr Karen Conaghan, the education convener, refuse to comment on the situation.
But Cllr Cllr Yvonne McNeilly, the Policy Lead for Education in Argyll, said their plans are designed to keep their pupils safe while maximising as much face-to-face time as possible for them.
In Argyll and Bute, head teachers will be getting in touch with parents and carers today (Friday) to let them know what the council’s proposed plans are for children and young people returning to school in August.
The plans, whilst subject to change depending on government advice, will see the majority of primary schools in the area adopting an 2:1:2 approach, where one group of pupils attend school on a Monday and Tuesday, and a second group of children attend Thursday and Friday.
On the days that children do not physically attend school they will engage in home learning activities provided by the teaching staff (blended learning).
Across our secondary schools two main models will be used. These are 50:50 where Broad General Education (BGE) pupils will attend school one week, and senior phase pupils will go the next.
On the days when children are not physically in the school building, they will be supplied with digital learning materials to continue blended learning. The second model is the 2:1:2 approach, used mainly by the area’s 3-18 campuses.
The council’s Policy Lead for Education, Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, said: “Keeping our pupils and staff safe is the council’s number one priority.
“Argyll and Bute has a diverse geography and, with a total of 88 schools of various sizes and building types, it hasn’t been easy putting plans into place.
“However, our dedicated education team has worked tirelessly to get these models ready to ensure they are the best for our young people, whilst maximising face-to-face teaching and also meeting national guidance set out by the Scottish Government.
“I completely understand that this is an anxious and worrying time for parents and pupils – we have never experienced anything like this in our lifetime.
“I want to reassure parents, however, that these models have been created with the safety and well-being of our pupils and staff at their heart.
“We remain committed to providing our children and young people with a positive learning environment where they feel safe and nurtured, and I believe that these models reflect that.
“These are extremely difficult times for everyone but we are all in this together and, as lockdown eases, these plans may be subject to change. I’d like to thank everyone involved for their hard work and understanding.”
What developing models head teachers factored in:
- Capacity of their school buildings using the current 2m social distancing rule.
- Workforce capacity taking account of staff who are currently ‘shielding’ (staying at home) because they are most at risk if they become infected with coronavirus.
- Funding eg current budget, use of Pupil Equity Funding (PEF), to support expanding the school estate and providing digital resources.
- Time for teachers to prepare digital learning materials required for home learning.
- Family groupings.
Memo to SNP administration.
Nicola Sturgeon has made it crystal clear that she requires local authorities to come up with plans to maximise teaching at school time.
Can we please therefore have your proposals. You have the tools, time you provided a plan.
No time for hiding.