Edinburgh schools reopening: No hugs, holding hands and a ‘bag ban’

Children will not be allowed to hold hands or hug

Capital school pupils will return in phases next week, with some children told to eat their lunches outdoors and face-to-face learning, hugging and high fives all prohibited – as well as a potential ban on bringing their bags to school.

Education bosses released their guidance for the long-awaited reopening of local schools, including advice on PPE, physical distancing and workforce planning.

Primary school pupils will return in phases between Wednesday, August 12 and Friday, August 14, with no one- or two-metre social distancing rules in place. Those with surnames beginning A-L will return on the Wednesday, stay at home on Thursday and then come back to school full time from Friday.

Surnames starting M-Z will return full-time from next Thursday, a day later than the first intake.

Secondary pupils will be notified today of their precise starting date next week, with different year groups beginning on different days.

By Monday, August 17, all secondary pupils will be back full-time.

The council estimates that extra coronavirus-related costs for reopening schools will amount to £14.5 million, around £5m less than originally anticipated.

The latest version of the council’s back to school plans, published yesterday, remains subject to change and will continue to be amended in line with Scottish Government and public health guidance.

While pupils will not be required to follow strict one- or two-metre social distancing rules, measures will be in place in secondary schools to actively encourage physical distancing.

Secondary year groups will as far as possible maintain a distance between one another, and pupils will be discouraged from making physical contact in forms such as hand-to-hand greetings and hugs.

Some schools may have a veto on bags to avoid the virus being brought into schools.

Classrooms will be adjusted where possible to create space between desks or individual children, and secondary pupils will be seated forward-facing and side by side, rather than face-to-face.

Where staffing allows it, secondary schools will consider altering class sizes to create more space.

All schools if necessary will implement one-way systems within buildings and where possible children will use external space to move between buildings.

To aid distancing, start and finish times are likely to be staggered and will vary from school to school.

Parents will be contacted directly with any new timing details that affect their child.

Schools will adopt individual drop-off and pick-up protocols. However, all parents will be asked to refrain from entering school grounds.

Staff in all schools will be required to maintain two-metre social distancing among one another and where possible with pupils too.

Most staff will normally not be required to wear PPE. However, all schools have been supplied with “sufficient and readily available” PPE should it be needed.

If a pupil displays symptoms of coronavirus then any staff member engaging with them should don gloves, aprons and a fluid-resistant surgical mask.

If there is a risk of splashing to the eyes from coughing, spitting or vomiting, eye protection should also be worn.

Staff providing intimate care to pupils such as washing or assisted feeding, or performing first aid, should wear gloves and aprons.

In most instances face masks will not need to be worn, however where staff are interacting with pupils face-to-face, less than two metres apart and for more than 15 minutes, coverings should be worn.

Although shielding has ended, the council predicts that in the worst-case scenario Edinburgh could face a teaching and support staff shortage of 15 per cent – around 900 people. Staffing plans are being organised around this figure.

The council has spent £3.36m of Scottish Government funding to recruit 70 newly qualified teachers across all educational settings to support closing the attainment gap that has increased for certain pupils during lockdown.

Should expected further funding become available the council will recruit an additional 30 newly qualified teachers to assist with catch-up learning.

More than 200 non-core teaching staff will be required in some circumstances to teach outside their specialism to ensure seamless learning takes place.

Three proposed menu models will cover early years, primary and secondary school lunches.

Meals will be ordered online in advance and those not on free school meals will pay using contactless systems.

Lunch times will be staggered to avoid overcrowding and allow space for physical distancing where possible.

Weather permitting, lunches will be served outdoors.

The council is continuing work on detailed plans to cover a range of scenarios, including those whereby schools can only function at 50 per cent pupil capacity with either one- or two-metre social distancing in place.

Should this be the case, schools will adopt blended learning, whereby teaching takes place online, on school grounds and in council spaces such as community centres.

Pupils would attend school on a rotational basis across four days, with Friday being reserved for home learning only.

Conservative councillor Callum Laidlaw, the party’s education spokesman and councillor for Craigmillar and Portobello, took aim at the council’s decision to notify parents of arrangements with less than a week until classes resume.

He said: “It is disappointing that the council left it until the week prior to school returning to let parents know that, contrary to the announcement by Nicola Sturgeon, pupils will not be returning in full on August 11, but will return in phases across the rest of the week, likely raising childcare issues. It also may surprise many that despite there being no social distancing in class, schools are being told to schedule phased drop-offs and pick-ups and measures like segregation and/or phasing of break times, which puts an additional burden on parents and schools.”

One city teacher said she believed more phasing of the return to lessons would be better.

She added: “The health and wellbeing of pupils and staff should be prioritised and I think this would best be managed with a transition period of two to four weeks with pupils attending 50 per cent of the week. That way we can help them with attachment issues after being with their parents non-stop for such a long time.”