General Secretary Larry Flanagan recently appeared before the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee to give evidence on the impact of COVID on education. Here, the SEJ takes a look at some of the key issues that were addressed.

The Committee Convener, Clare Adamson, welcomed Mr Flanagan and the other panellists to the Committee and outlined the agenda for the session, which was held virtually to comply with Coronavirus restrictions. She then opened the session up for questions from Committee members, with the opening question coming from Rona Mackay.

Rona Mackay: I want to ask about vulnerable children and the children of key workers. Many parents of children with ASN have contacted me to express concerns about the practicalities of home learning and the considerable stress that that is causing them. What extra support are local authorities giving to those parents, and how do they access the support?

Larry Flanagan: I think that all parents will find home learning stressful. It is not an ideal situation, but I agree with those local authorities that are not automatically designating someone as vulnerable because they are in an ASN setting. For example, a young person who has a physical disability that requires an ASN setting might be as capable of home learning as any of their peers.

One of our members’ big concerns is ASN settings. In particular schools, close proximity with the children is often necessary because of the support that is needed for toiletry arrangements or for feeding. In some cases, the schools are closer to a clinical setting than an educational setting. Staff in ASN settings have significant concerns in that regard.

Some councils have moved ASN schools on to blended learning approaches simply to reduce the number of people who are in the classroom—often, it is not only the teacher and pupils; there might also be three or four additional support staff present. Of course, pupil numbers will be smaller because class sizes are smaller.

We have raised a specific concern with the Scottish Government about addressing ASN settings in a different way from mainstream schools, because in lots of ways they are closer to the situation in care homes due to the close proximity of people. There is a strong case that, if any group of teachers were to be prioritised for vaccination, it should be those in ASN settings. There is a lot of concern about that among our members.

Alex Neil: From the unions’ point of view, what conditions need to be met in order for kids to get back to school and out of the current situation? When do you see it being right and proper to have the kids back in school? What criteria need to be met?

Larry Flanagan: There is a range of issues, the most critical of which is that the virus must be under control — the R number must be well below 1 and moving downwards. Opening schools can add 0.2 to 0.4 to the R number. Unless we want to be in and out, then in and out again with schools, we must suppress the virus in the community before we even think about reopening them.

Beyond that, there is a bigger challenge that is, in some senses, new. In-school transmission and the risk to pupils were contested areas pre-Christmas. One new challenge is the increased transmissibility of the new variant. It is fairly clear, although the evidence is still being worked through, that transmission has increased among young people—that drove the high figures in London and the south-east. They do not physically distance in schools, and, after they go back to households, the virus goes from households into the community. In the education recovery group, we will ask about the implications of that for how schools operate.

Schools might be able to reopen only if physical distancing of pupils is introduced, which would mean that we were back to where we were last August, when we had blended learning and part-time attendance. Blended learning is better than remote learning but not as good as full-time attendance. There is great concern about the new variant’s implications for schools.

Beatrice Wishart: My questions are about teacher wellbeing and support. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen advice, guidance and support from central education agencies being shared late in the day. Can you give an insight into what that means for teachers? With regard to the possible knock-on effects, are there any repercussions for learners?

Larry Flanagan: Workload has always been a pressure, and that has particularly been the case over the last period. I make particular mention of the pressures that have been brought to bear on school leadership teams, as Headteachers and Deputes have carried a particular burden. For example, the default position on test and trace has been that Public Health Scotland has left it to schools. Outbreaks in schools have been a huge challenge—heads often work over weekends to contact parents about self-isolation, and the last-minute changes always mean an intense period of preparation.

We had the extended Christmas break, which gave a couple of days of leeway in which to organise the remote learning platforms. However, many teachers are also parents, and the challenges that all parents will face when working from home and having online schooling going on are particularly acute for teachers who have children in the house, as they are trying to deliver both at the same time. Therefore, workload has been a significant concern.

There is much more that can be done by increasing the staffing levels in schools to provide the greatest support possible to individuals, particularly pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Ross Greer: An issue is the impact on teachers of what is currently expected of them. Earlier today, the Deputy First Minister said, “Remote learning will not replicate in-school teaching in style, approach or hours of delivery.”

Does that tally with what councils and schools have been expecting of teachers over the past week?

Larry Flanagan: Schools are far better prepared for this lockdown experience than they were last March, because that was the result of a sudden decision. However, that does not mean that there are not still issues to be addressed. The guidance from Education Scotland on remote learning is useful, because it talks about a balance of approaches. Without getting over educational about it, I highlight that the pedagogy of remote learning is completely different from the pedagogy of in-class teaching. It would be totally wrong, therefore, for a young person, and a primary-age child in particular, to be in front of a screen for five hours a day; that would be detrimental to their wellbeing.

You need some level of interaction and direction from the teacher on a remote learning platform and you must also have activities that require some degree of independence. That changes according to age groups. The remote learning dynamic for pupils in the senior phase will be different from that for pupils in primary 1, 2 or 3. Schools are best placed to make that judgment.

There are some off-the-wall approaches. I have heard of secondary schools that have tried to replicate their usual 33-period weekly timetable. That is pedagogically unsound, and it is unworkable. We have put examples of good approaches to timetabling on our website. A secondary school could organise an afternoon block of English or Maths, with the teacher directing the learning within that.

We must share good practice as quickly as possible and stamp out any of the nonsense that might pop up. It is in everyone’s interest to ensure that remote learning works as effectively as possible. I know that teachers have put a lot of effort into getting that right for young people. They saw how some particular groups were impacted during the previous lockdown and they do not want that to be repeated. If there are lessons to learn, we should share them. Remote learning cannot be as good as an in-school experience, but it can be effective for a short time and it can keep young people engaged in their learning journey

This is an edited extract of the general questions covered in the General Secretary’s evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee on 13 January 2021. View the full session here: www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/ education-and-skills-committeejanuary- 13-2021