Schools must have robust safety measures in place on their return, says union

Robust safety measures must be in place when schools in Scotland return next week, a teaching union has said.

NASUWT said there should be monitoring of Covid-19 infection rates in each local authority and information sharing from employers on new cases.

It also wants all school staff and pupils to be routinely tested for coronavirus.

Schools will begin to reopen from August 11, with all pupils due back full-time from August 18.

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of NASUWT, said: “Teachers and other staff working in schools want to be assured that when they return to the workplace they will be afforded the same level of protection as staff in other occupations and workplaces.

“The government and employers need to demonstrate that schools are ready to reopen safely and must not leave the safety of children, teachers and the general public to chance.

“It is important to remember that we remain in a public health emergency and the Scottish Government and employers must do everything they can to ensure that reopening schools does not lead to an increase in cases of Covid-19.

“This is why routine, widespread, testing systems, coupled with effective information sharing measures, are so important, along with the mitigation and safety measures schools and colleges are being asked to take.”

Jane Peckham, NASUWT’s national official for Scotland, said: “School leaders and staff have been working phenomenally hard in very difficult and uncertain circumstances to ensure that they can safely reopen and many pupils and staff are looking forward to returning to school and college.

“However, many also remain anxious about their health and welfare and the provision of routine Covid-19 testing in schools, along with monitoring systems to ensure the safety of staff and pupils, would go a long way to providing extra reassurance that all steps which can be taken to keep schools safe environment are in place.”