RESPONSE TO DEPUTE FIRST MINISTER’S STATEMENT – TUESDAY 23 JUNE 2020

You may be aware that John Swinney, the Depute First Minister has, this afternoon, made a statement in the Scottish Parliament about all children and young people returning to school on 12 August. The Depute First Minister indicated that the Scottish Government’s planning assumption is now to have all pupils returning to schools 12 August, if it is safe to do so. He has also indicated that this will be conditional and dependent upon scientific and health advice. Clearly, our schools are delighted at the prospect of welcoming all of our pupils back to school in August with the knowledge that it is safe to do so.

 Midlothian Council’s local delivery plans to deliver a blended learning model will remain in place as a contingency and essential preparation in case they are needed. We would like to assure you that all Midlothian schools have a robust blended learning plan ready to be implemented should that be the requirement.

We are now urgently considering the implications of this announcement on our plans for August. It is clear that final decisions on a full return will not be confirmed until during the summer holidays. We are awaiting further specific guidance and will be in touch with you again as soon as we can.   We continue to work on the assumption that staff will return to school on the 10 August 2020 and pupils will return on the 12 August 2020.

We appreciate that this is a fast changing situation and you will be keen to know what this means for your child/children. As this change has to be achieved safely, it inevitably remains conditional and dependent upon ongoing scientific and health advice, therefore we are committed to continuing to share information with you as soon as we can, including during the summer holidays.