Parent ban at nursery graduations 'inconsistent'

Claire Scott has launched a petition to allow parents to attend nursery graduation ceremonies

A mother has criticised "inconsistent" Covid rules after parents were stopped from attending nursery graduations in North Lanarkshire.

The council said the measure was to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

But Claire Scott from Motherwell hopes to petition the Scottish government to overturn the decision.

She told the BBC it was frustrating for parents to see events such as the Euro 2020 fan zone allowed when they cannot celebrate their children's milestones.

Nurseries across Scotland can organise graduation ceremonies for children who are preparing to go to primary school as this does not currently breach government guidelines.

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Ms Scott said parents at her daughter's nursery were originally told they could attend the outdoor event, which would enforce social distancing - but this was scrapped at the end of May.

She told the BBC's Kaye Adams programme both she and her five-year-old daughter Ava were "really upset" at the news, which came at the end of a "rubbish year".

Ms Scott has organised fun family events indoors - like this red carpet movie night

"I don't know who was more upset - me or Ava, to be honest," she said. "It's a shame, the work that goes into these things from the staff and children is incredible.

"All parents want to celebrate their children's milestones and we've not been able to get involved in anything - nativity plays, sports days. We were really looking forward to the graduation."

North Lanarkshire Council said it was following Scottish government guidance, which states "adult visitors to schools should be strictly limited only to those that are necessary to support children and young people or the running of the school".

Ms Scott has kept Ava active at home - but said she has still been impacted by being apart from friends

A council spokesperson said: "We want children and young people to experience transition events that are both meaningful and fun for them but it is important that we follow the guidance that is place for schools and early years premises.

"We understand this is disappointing but we are following Scottish government advice and all our efforts are focused on keeping our children and young people safe."

The spokesperson added that staff would take pictures and videos of nursery graduations to share with parents and carers.

'Where do you draw the line?'

More than 4,300 people have now signed Ms Scott's petition to allow parents to attend the ceremonies.

She questioned the council's health and safety rationale when the Scottish government has approved large events to take place around Euro 2020 matches - such as the 12,000 fans allowed into Hampden to watch the national team and the Glasgow Green fan zone which can accommodate 6,000 people per day.

She added: "There has been recent events in my local area where hundreds of people go and attend outside - so I don't know where you draw the line.

"I think the most frustrating thing for parents is the inconsistency, and for children as well. "

Getting back to 'normality'

The graduation disappointment has come at the end of a "challenging" year for Ava, Ms Scott said.

"Getting back into her nursery classes and seeing her friends has helped her but I think definitely her emotions have been all over the place - maybe lashing out a bit more than she would have done with the sheer frustration."

Child psychologist Dr Rachel Nesbit of Reading University told the programme that having fun - particularly play learning for younger children - was important for social and emotional development and for meeting mental health needs.

On the subject of events such as graduations, she said that while children have had a difficult year, younger age groups "aren't really aware" of what they have missed.

"It's potentially parents that are more concerned about that loss than the child themselves," she said.

"I think the important thing going forward is that we try to speak to children. Children's lives have been dictated for the past 18 months in the sense we're controlling their every movement and I think what we need to do now is have conversations with our children, find out what it is they want to do and how we can support them into some sort of normality."

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