Weekend press reports served as a timely reminder to parents that when it comes to back to school plans uncertainty rules, and the decision will go to the wire.
West Lothian has a contingency plan that was agreed in June for blended learning and a partial return to school by pupils on August 12.
And, as Stephen McCabe, joint chair of the Scottish Government education recovery group warned in press reports at the weekend, a full to education return is not “a given”.
That phrase was echoed by Larry Flanagan, the General Secretary of the EIS, Scotland’s largest teaching union on Monday.
He said: “It should be noted that the advice is contingent upon continued suppression of the virus.
“ That shouldn’t be taken as a given.”
If required, West Lothian’s plan for blended education is to have pupils attending classes in school on either a Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday.
However it remains an ever evolving situation.
And it now appears that it will be early August, probably just a week before the return date, that West Lothian and other councils will know whether it is going to be a full return or blended education partial return.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The plan to fully re-open schools is dependent on having measures in place to ensure the safety of pupils and staff and we will publish guidance on this soon.”
West Lothian Councillor Stuart Borrowman, who sits as an independent and chairs the council’s Education Quality Assurance Committee, said: “ I have a few parents who are understandably nervous but school staff have worked extremely hard to prepare buildings and timetables for various scenarios.”
