Scottish schools are expected to remain open until Christmas after Nicola Sturgeon’s leading health adviser urged her to defy union demands to close them early.
Professor Jason Leitch, the national clinical director, said children had already lost too much education and highlighted the toll that lockdowns took on mental health and domestic abuse rates.
Scottish ministers will meet tomorrow morning to decide what restrictions are required to head off the “tsunami” of Omicron cases that Sturgeon warned of last week.
Leitch told Lunchtime Live on BBC Radio Scotland: “The decision is above my pay grade but we, the public health advisers, are very reluctant to close schools because of the other harms that school closures cause. It is not as simple as some people suggest to just close schools early and open them a bit later in January as that has massive implications for feeding and educating children as well as child protection.
“We won’t hesitate to close schools if we think they are dangerous but at this stage our advice is not to close schools.”
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Leitch’s advice was contradicted by Professor Andrew Watterson, of Stirling University’s faculty of health sciences, who said that it may be wise to send children home. He called for better ventilation in schools and other workplaces. “Simply telling people to open the windows isn’t all that helpful” during the cold winter months, he said.
Schoolchildren are wearing overcoats and blankets to keep warm in class because of a government edict to keep windows open to limit the spread of coronavirus. One teacher said that temperatures in their classrooms had fallen to 11C, raising the risk of asthma attacks and other conditions linked to cold.
Teachers want masks to be retained in schools all winter and 30 per cent do not believe their working space is sufficiently ventilated.
Christmas is under threat again this year because households are being told to isolate for ten days if one member tests positive. Larry Flanagan, head of the EIS teaching union, said parents would ignore government advice and take their children out of school to protect their festive gatherings.
More than 18,700 children were off school for coronavirus-related reasons last Friday, the highest number since September 23. That is about one in 37 pupils.
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Flanagan said: “Anyone who becomes an Omicron contact is liable to miss their family Christmas. Given that one of the intentions related to schools is that people do get to the Christmas holidays and are able to enjoy them, there is an increased risk in the final week of school that anyone identified as a close contact will be self-isolating over the Christmas period.”
Some councils are planning to close schools on Friday as part of their normal timetable, including Edinburgh and East Lothian, but the other Scottish cities are due to remain open until the middle of next week.
Flanagan said: “This time last year the government refused our request for a firebreak and we ended up in a three-month lockdown, so it is sensible to at least look at the option of school closures to allow children, their families and school staff to plan their family holiday with some degree of confidence.
“Obviously people can become infected outside of school but we know that younger unvaccinated people are particularly vulnerable and could drive some of the increase in Omicron.”
Humza Yousaf, the health secretary, confirmed that early school closures would be considered by the cabinet before Sturgeon addresses MSPs tomorrow. He said: “We will be busting a gut and doing everything we can to ensure that children’s education is not disrupted. There is not just potential education disruption. We know the effect that lockdowns, restrictions and preventative measures have had on people’s mental health so that is something we have to consider alongside what we need to do in relation to public health.”
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Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT union, said: “Teachers are asking the first minister to do much more to protect them and their students against a potential ‘tsunami’ of new Covid cases. Teachers deserve the reassurance that all possible mitigations are in place now and for the start of next term to protect them against the severe threat of Covid-19 arising from the new Omicron variant.
“School staff are key workers who have stepped up throughout the pandemic. The first minister’s forthcoming Covid-19 statement to the Scottish parliament is a prime opportunity to demonstrate that the Scottish government is stepping up protections within schools to keep teachers, students, and the wider community safe.”
