IT is crucial that parents wear masks and abide by physical distancing rules at the school gates when younger pupils return to school, Education Secretary John Swinney has said.
Children in primaries one to three are due back in Scottish schools on Monday, as well as some senior secondary pupils who are undertaking practical qualifications.
Swinney said the return of young pupils must not prompt parents/guardians to relax their grasp on restrictions, as the Government has little “headroom” with regards to the R number: the rate at which the virus grows.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon update: Schools to begin reopening from Monday
He told the BBC’s Sunday Show programme: “I know this can be quite controversial at times but adults making sure they follow all of the physical distancing requirements at the school gate, or the mask-wearing requirements, is critical to make sure that the return of young children – who are much less susceptible to transmitting the virus – is not in some way undermined by the fact that there is essentially parental transmission.”
He argued that everyone has “got to play a part”, not only in the school environment but in society as a whole, to ensure the virus is suppressed.
“Because we don’t actually have an awful lot of headroom between where the R level is just now – somewhere between 0.7 and 0.9 – and 1, where obviously the virus begins to spread exponentially,” he continued.
Swinney said that ministers will be monitoring data carefully when the initial wave of pupils return to school, to assess whether others can also go back.
READ MORE: Covid update Scotland: Virus infection rate estimated to be lowest in UK
The UK Government hopes to open all schools in England on March 8, however this is dependant on falling infection rates.
Addressing this Swinney said: “What we will do in Scotland is work to get all pupils back to face-to-face learning at the earliest possible opportunity.
“Safety is absolutely paramount in doing that. That’s why we’ve taken the careful decisions we’ve taken for tomorrow.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel