A thread follows on #schoolsreopening and #blendedlearning. Thought a lot about this over the weekend, and taken soundings from parents with all political beliefs and from both constitutional backgrounds. Important to try as much as possible to contextualise my personal views ...
as a parent at a very difficult time, and offer a reasonable and objective viewpoint. But my conclusion is that what is going to happen in schools over the next year is an avoidable public policy calamity with enduring consequences for all children, particularly the poorest.
I should say at the outset, as I have in a number of articles including this one 👇🏻, that ministers are doing an unimaginable job in unimaginable circumstances. It’s much easier for someone like me to opine than it is for them to do. heraldscotland.com/news/18512814.…
It is also true that the Scottish Government has massive approval ratings for its handling of #coronavirus, and that’s justified given the FM’s secure and reassuring handling. However I fear that on this occasion SG has, very unusually, misread both the requirement and the mood.
I have never seen the shock and anger on WhatsApp groups, Facebook forums and on here, from nationalists in equal number to unionists. SG is wrong to presume that parents and employers are getting used to this. Far from it - we are (or were) counting the days until August 11.
Let’s start at the start. There are two issues here; firstly, the SG guidance and secondly, the way councils have applied it. I understand why SG is being cautious. It is desperate to avoid a second wave before we have an antibody/antivirus/vaccine.
But this is not like waiting for a bus you know will soon be there. The antibody/antivirus/vaccine may be years away, if they ever come at all. So we need to ready ourselves to live with this long-term.
Moreover, the FM is now discussing ‘eradicating’ the virus before relaxing the restrictions, Jacina Aderne style. But NZ never had anything close to the infection rates we had, principally because, to put it mildly, Wellington is a rather less global city than London.
The consequences of schools being out are severe in a number of ways. Economic, because parents can’t work. Poverty, for the same reason. Female participation in the workforce. Mental health. Rarely but devastatingly, child protection.
Most widespread and obvious, of course, lost attainment, particularly amongst the poorest. And particularly at pinch points such as exam sitters, where talk of a lost generation is *not* overblown.
And let’s be clear about this - *all* of these impacts on children are significantly more damaging to them than catching Coronavirus would be. There is a reason why we never hear about children dying or even becoming ill from Covid - it’s because it is not happening.
So let’s look from the other end of the telescope. Just as we presume that hospitals need to operate at full capacity and serve all, we should presume the same for schools. We don’t ask half of patients to wait outside A&E until tomorrow. So why are we doing it for schoolkids?
Hospitals are unable to observe 2m social distancing so they work around it with enhanced hygiene, health checks and so on. Let’s do the same with schools. Let’s ignore social distancing amongst children - they won’t do it anyway, and they won’t get ill.
I know, I know, it’s not about the children, it’s about who they contact. Firstly, it is worth noting that there is no hard evidence that children infect adults at all. However, even if they do, that is what the following extra hygiene measures would be for.
Just like in hospitals, where social distancing is impossible, schools should put in place other measures. Hand sanitiser on all desks. No sharing of equipment. Temperature checks on staggered entry, with quarantine zones for picking up hot kids.
Observation of these measures make social distancing irrelevant. And will mean that teachers shouldn’t be infected by children. Most teachers are younger, and healthy. Of course some are not - they may be older, they may be in an at-risk group.
They could all be supplied with masks/shields/enhanced PPE, or if necessary not be in at all, replaced by fastracked students, for instance. This brings us to the thorny issue of teachers.
I have always felt teachers get a raw deal. Given the importance of education to making the economy and society tick, they are massively underpaid. It is a national scandal that a train driver is paid more than a teacher.
However, I fear that by allowing their trade union to behave in an obstructive manner, they are digging themselves a hole and risk a public backlash. Teachers I know, and those who teach my kids, have children’s interests at heart. Their trade union does not.
Larry Flanagan, with no medical qualifications I am aware of, was quoted by the Sunday Times yesterday as staying that the globally recognised epidemiologists at the WHO have made a mistake with their 1m distancing recommendation, and that Scottish teachers would only observe 2m.
It should hardly need saying that the government of the people cannot allow a trade union to hold a veto over whether or not our children are entitled to an education. If the government takes on the union, the people will back the government.
A final word on the application of SG policy by local authorities. It seems to me that this has varied from mildly innovative to completely thoughtless. The best application I have seen is in Fife. 2 cohorts; one on M/Tu, then a clean on Wednesday, then the other Th/F.
It’s not enough, but there is at least a measure of educational and hygienic cadence to it. Not so here in Edinburgh I’m afraid. Three cohorts each with one day a week, an extra day on a three week rotation, and a Friday closure.
As well as being half the provision of neighbouring councils, and one-fifth of private schools (which have started telling parents it’s full time from August), it makes no hygienic sense. You have three mixing cohorts back-to-back-to-back and then a clean at the end of the week.
Edinburgh needs to think again. At least, copy Fife. But then more. Use council buildings and churches. Do much more PE - a day a week outside doing sports. Just *think* more. 100% is possible. Not just possible - it is essential. ENDS.
