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Strengthened safety measures regarding face coverings in schools now in force in a bid to suppress Covid-19


By Ian Duncan

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The Scottish Government has issued new guidance for face coverings in schools.

The new rules, which were introduced yesterday, state that adults must wear face coverings at all times in primary and secondary schools.

This applies when they cannot keep two metres from other adults and children – with some exceptions in P1 and P2 – across all five levels in the strategic framework.

Face coverings should also be worn by parents and other visitors to any school site (whether entering the building or otherwise), including parents at drop-off and pick-up.

In local authority areas in Levels 3 and 4, pupils in the senior phase – S4-6 – and their teachers should wear face coverings in classrooms, as well as when they are moving around the school and in communal areas.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Keeping schools open remains our priority but that can only be the case if schools are safe. There have been tremendous efforts applied by staff and pupils to ensure this is the case and I thank them all for their efforts.

"We constantly review the guidance on school opening along with our local authority partners, trades unions, parental representatives and other stakeholders to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to ensure our schools are safe. This strengthened guidance, produced in light of updated scientific and health advice, adds to the health mitigations that have been in place since schools opened in August."

He said it was vital that all the measures were followed rigorously in schools and added: "Doing that – together with the collective efforts of all of us across wider society ­– will help to ensure that schools can safely remain open.

“None of the levels in the framework require any automatic move to school closures or blended learning. However, no one can predict what the coming weeks and months will bring. Remote learning remains an important contingency for schools at all levels of the strategic framework and there has been considerable progress made in the provision of remote learning, should that be required.”


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