Parent councils raise 'deep concerns' over Edinburgh's back-to-school plan

Lewis and Alex Scott have been learning from home since their school was closed in March

Parent council leaders in Edinburgh have raised "deep concerns" about plans for children to return to schools on a part-time basis.

Pupils in the city could attend schools as little as one day a week under plans to reopen schools in August.

In a letter to Edinburgh city council, 15 parent councils warn the proposals will affect the "education, social and emotional wellbeing" of children.

The council said it was "doing everything possible".

Parents also said their ability to work would be "severely hindered".

It has told parents that only 33% of children would be in school at any time when its autumn term starts on 12 August.

Nicola Sturgeon has said this amount of time is "not good enough" and she wants pupils to be in school a minimum of 50% of the time.

• What will happen when schools go back in August?

In their letter to the local authority, parent leaders accuse the council of failing to meet its legal obligations to provide a school education for every child.

They urge council leaders to "revisit" their plans, engage with parents and publish a clear "roadmap" to full-time teaching.

"The issues with the current proposals are multiple, such as the provision of less than 30% face-to-face teaching time and the lack of clarity about online teaching provision," the letter says.

They parent council leaders warn that the plans are likely in increase inequalities "significantly".

And they add: "Since 20 March 2020 when schools closed, the council have failed to engage with parent groups, for example cancelling locality meetings, and have consistently been slow to respond to parents' concerns.

"The devolved nature of responsibility for education should not result in sub-standard and inconsistent provision across the country; we consider that the current situation requires a national and coordinated response across Scotland."

Parents said the plan to return to school was unacceptable

The letter was on behalf of the people who chair parent councils from Boroughmuir High School, Buckstone Primary School, Bruntsfield Primary School, James Gillespie's Primary School, Tollcross Primary School, Royal Mile Primary School, James Gillespies High School, Preston Street Primary School and Taobh na Pairce, Sciennes Primary School and Bonaly Primary School, Juniper Green Primary School, Longstone Primary School, Towerbank Primary School, Nether Currie Primary School in Edinburgh.

Stef Scott, 43, who has been home schooling her sons Lewis, 10, and Alex, seven, said the plan to return to school was unacceptable.

She said: "We felt there was a light at the end of the tunnel and then we saw this plan and thought it was a real kick in the teeth.

"With staggered starts and only going to school one day a week it is hardly worth sending the kids back at all.

"Now I feel when is this all going to end?"

The Wardie Primary School after-school club committee member also added: "We have also been given no guidance on how to run the after-school club, so what use is it for working parents if they have to pick up their kids at 15:00?"

Louise Towers, 45, who has sons in P3 and P7, said the "excellent" letter summed up how she was feeling.

"The rights of the child have been forgotten," she said.

"They are missing out on socialising and all personal contact with children, teachers and other adults at the school has been completely removed from their lives.

"Sending a note and posting a picture is not the same as being in the classroom."

Ian Perry, education convener at the council, said: "I want to reassure parents that we're doing everything possible to try and get as many pupils back into their schools as safely as possible as I know the past few months have placed a huge burden on everyday family life.

"We've always been looking to maximise the number of days pupils could attend school and there's a lot of detailed work being carried out to achieve this."

He said it involved seeing what spare capacity there was in the council estate and other buildings across the city, employing more teachers and meeting all the health requirements to meet the current two metre physical distancing rule.

He added: "These are enormous challenges and come at a significant financial cost so we greatly welcome the Scottish government's announcement that they are happy to look at specific proposals for additional funding.

"Whilst there are still many other barriers to overcome, this will help our drive towards reaching a 50% attendance. We will be submitting our plans to the Scottish government next week."