TEACHERS are “scunnered” at the Scottish Government as they face new uncertainty over the return to school in August, The National has been told.

Speaking anonymously, teaching staff said they’d been taken by surprise by John Swinney’s Tuesday announcement, which set out plans for a potential return to full-time classroom tuition after the summer if the virus continues to recede.

The announcement followed an earlier statement by Swinney that suggested it was “unlikely” that classes would return to normal within a year.

Before the Tuesday news, plans for socially distanced teaching had been laid out, with families told to prepare for a blended learning model which would see their youngsters in classrooms for a couple of days per week.

One primary school head said she’d found out about the change on the news, adding: “We’ve been going like the clappers the last few weeks. The logistical arrangements, we were there with them, and then we’re told, ‘no, in fact you are just going back to normal’, so all of that work has been for nothing. But it’s a big if – we still don’t know what we’re going back to.

“The work to get back to an as-normal model of teaching, how are we supposed to do it now summer has arrived?”

Another teacher said the profession feels “scunnered” and Swinney’s announcement “came out of nowhere”, adding: “There are a lot of vulnerable kids in my school. They’ve all been in to meet their teachers and see their classes. Potentially they’ll now be told that’s all changed.”

A third believes the decision “is about economics and not safety”.

Yesterday Scotland’s biggest teaching union described Swinney’s back-to-school plan as a “maybes aye, maybes naw” strategy in a letter to members which also raised fresh health fears.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said the full-time move “sparked considerable debate, anxiety, frustration, confusion and even anger amongst many members” and was a “political announcement” that had not been agreed by the Covid Education Recovery Group a week earlier.

The letter said the EIS is “not convinced that no physical distancing between pupils is safe”, stating: “There cannot be a social distancing rule for outside of schools and a different one for inside classrooms.

“We have raised already the issue of further mitigations potentially being required.

“At the moment we have asked for these to be considered without specifically advocating for them, and it may be that members will have different views which we will need to ascertain but, for example, why would it be mandatory to wear a face covering on public transport but not in a classroom?

“Why would a till assistant be protected by a perspex sheet but not a teacher?”

The Scottish Government said: “The Education Recovery Group, which brings together councils, teachers’ representatives, parent bodies and trades unions, will continue to meet over the summer to discuss the next steps as we plan for the safe re-opening of schools.

“We are planning for schools to re-open on August 11. However, some schools may need a very short period of time to finalise their planning for the new term. Councils will provide clarity on this issue as soon as possible.”