Edinburgh schools to reopen for just one third of pupils at a time

Kids in the capital will have a mix of classes at school and at home for the foreseeable future.

Just a third of school children will be allowed to attend classes in person when schools reopen, Edinburgh Council has announced.

Unveiling its plans to reopen schools on August 11 in line with Scottish government plans, the council said the measure would be essential to keep children and staff safe.

Every pupil will have a mix of teaching in school and learning at home and the days they attend will be determined by their school.

Just a third of school children will be allowed to attend classes in person when schools reopen, Edinburgh Council has announced.

Teaching will take place from Mondays to Thursdays, with children attending for the whole day. Fridays will be used by staff to support home learning, the council said.

There will be limited key worker childcare support throughout the week including on Fridays during normal school hours.

The council also said that nursery and primary children will be grouped together to enable family members to attend school on the same days.

In secondary schools, pupils will be grouped together either by year group or family group depending on the individual arrangements made by their school.

Pupils at special schools will be in for half the week, with the majority offering two full days in school and the rest as home learning.

The council said individual schools should contact parents and carers directly to let them know final arrangements.

Education Convener, Councillor Ian Perry, said: “The past three months have been very challenging for the world of education and I want to thank parents, carers and staff in our schools who continue to support our children with home learning and keyworker learning and childcare.

“The health and wellbeing of our children, young people and staff has been at the forefront of our planning for their return to their schools in August.

“We believe these plans represent the safest return to school as possible for them and in a way that best supports the quality of their learning and their safety.

“We are making sure the guidance and advice from both Health Protection Scotland and Scottish Government is being strictly followed when it comes to social distancing, hygiene regimes and risk assessments – it’s essential that we keep our children and staff safe.

“This new blended model is an improvement on the current home learning arrangements, and I want to reassure parents that where possible we review, refine and improve our approach so we can maximise the proportion of in-school learning.”

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