SNP considers last-minute extension to school Christmas holidays

Urgent action will be needed to support working parents if a controversial plan to extend school Christmas holidays is adopted, SNP ministers have been warned.

Jeane Freeman, the health secretary, confirmed that a proposal to extend the festive break from December 18 to January 11 across Scotland is being considered, amid fears that a relaxation of Covid-19 rules over five days for Christmas will cause a spike in  cases.

Parents in some parts of the country had been told that schools would break up on December 23, meaning those with jobs face having to put urgent childcare plans in place with less than three weeks' notice. Dates for a return to classrooms in January also vary, with some pupils currently expecting to return on January 4.

Schools could also move to a temporary remote learning system following the relaxation of strict coronavirus rules over five days in December, a leaked document circulated to council leaders reveals.

It states that an extension could offer a “break” following the more relaxed rules on social mixing over Christmas, while also ensuring that “school staff are not involved in contact tracing into the Christmas period”.

The changes are being proposed despite SNP ministers previously insisting that schools are safe environments and that teachers are at no more risk of catching the virus than other workers.

However, the move may placate Scotland’s powerful teaching unions, which have threatened strike action after schools were kept open even in 11 council areas that have been placed into near-full lockdowns.

Opposition MSPs and parent groups also raised fears over the impact any extra closures would have on children’s education, after they already lost months of face-to-face learning after the UK-wide lockdown was imposed in March.

Jamie Greene, education spokesman for the Scottish Tories, said: “We want young people to grow up to have the best careers possible and any further watering down of their class time must be properly catered for at home.

“Every child should have access to proper IT equipment and learning materials to ensure they don’t fall behind with their studies.

“We should not underestimate the enormous pressure an extended Christmas break would put on countless working parents and every effort should be made to support them.

“Re-opening key worker hubs to share the burden of child support is a must if an extended break does get the go ahead.”

Speaking at the Scottish Government’s daily coronavirus briefing, Ms Freeman confirmed the idea of extending the school holidays is being considered with unions and local authorities.

She said: "They're looking at the festive period and the school holidays, and how we return to school at the end of that period.

“We will make sure that we reach a view based on the advice from that expert recovery group, and make sure that we reach a view as soon as we can so that people do have advance notice.

"We want to give people as much notice as possible if there is to be any change at all, but at this point that decision hasn't been reached."

Earlier in the year, union leaders claimed that remote learning could be in place for up to a year after schools returned in August. However, the plans were scrapped, and schools opened full time, following a major backlash from parents.

Parent campaign group Us For Them Scotland said it was "vital" youngsters do not lose out on time in the classroom.

Organiser Jo Bisset said: "If schools do close for an additional week over Christmas, then that time must be made up in the spring.

"Parents understand that the festive period will be complicated for everyone, not just the schools system.

"And while this will undoubtedly cause difficulty for many from a childcare perspective, that will be eased somewhat by a guarantee that their children won't miss out overall."