Edinburgh council leader Adam McVey insists "teaching and learning can continue" despite today's announcement that all schools would be closing.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that schools will be shutting down later this week amid the coronavirus outbreak. She added that there was no guarantee classes would resume before the summer break.
With thousands of pupils and teachers now set to spend time at home, Councillor McVey issued a wide-ranging update on a number of issues – from learning and teaching to school meals.
He said that school staff have been planning for this announcement, and that "a huge amount of work" has gone into preparing online resources so there's as little disruption to learning and teaching as possible.
He posted on Twitter: "Health and safety of young people and staff in our schools is paramount and we fully support the ScotGov's decision.
"Our dedicated school staff have been planning for this and a huge amount of work has gone into preparing online resources so pupils' learning and teaching can continue.
"I've been so proud of the amazing resilience shown by everyone working in our schools – teachers, support assistants, cleaners and catering staff – and they demonstrated tremendous dedication in keeping our schools open during these recent challenging weeks.
"We're determined to do all we can to protect our communities especially the most vulnerable in our society. We've been working on plans to continue free meals during school closures for young people currently getting Free School Meals and more details will be announced soon."
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