JOHN Swinney has confirmed that there will be no change to the school holidays in Scotland over Christmas.
There had been speculation that the three-week break could be extended, with classes finishing up earlier and going back later.
But in a letter to Holyrood’s Education and Skills Committee, the Deputy First Minister said he had “reached the decision not to make any changes to the planned Christmas and new year holiday dates”. He told MSPs that extending the holidays could do more harm than good.
Swinney said the Education Recovery Group’s scientific advisers believed there would be less transmission of coronavirus through “children and young people being in school than mixing out of school”.
He also said he was mindful of the “significant difficulties for working parents” and the “need for childcare for key worker children”.
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But the EIS said the decision would leave teachers disappointed and angered. Their fear is that by having pupils in schools until just days before Christmas, staff could ultimately be forced to work over the holidays, helping contact tracers, if there’s a Covid outbreak, or possibly even forced to self-isolate.
In a statement, Swinney said: “Being in school is in the best interests of children and our priority remains to ensure schools are safe, and open. The advice I have received from public health officials, and the Covid-19 sub-group on education and children’s issues, is not to alter the holiday dates.
“We also know vulnerable children may be at greater risk if they are out of school for an extended period, and I am mindful of the impact an extension to school holidays would have for working parents.”
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “Many teachers across Scotland will be disappointed and angered at the Scottish Government decision today, which once again shows a complete disregard for the concerns and welfare of teachers.
“The EIS had asked that schools move to remote learning in the final week: “Allowing this would have helped protect staff, students and their families during the festive season and reduce the risk of pupils or teachers being required to self-isolate over Christmas – while also ensuring that education provision continued via remote learning.”
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