Parents' anger at Nicola Sturgeon's 'patronising' claims over schools' return

Parents’ groups have branded as “patronising” Nicola Sturgeon’s claims that she could not allow all children to go back to school because their parents could spread the virus through increased socialising in their free time.

The First Minister told Holyrood on Tuesday that while youngsters mixing in school was not regarded as a major way of spreading the virus, her fear was that, without their children at home, parents would mix during the school day, potentially fuelling infection.

She said that if she kept youngsters off school, parents would be unable to mingle at the school gates or return to work, where they would have increased contact with other people.

Parents have hit out at the claims, saying most would be relieved to return to just one job – or home responsibilities – rather than home schooling on top of their normal workload and would not use the opportunity to socialise.

School pupils walking in to school through school gates

Parents told The Scotsman having their children at home meant more contact with other adults, as they were forced to mix while allowing their children to socialise outdoors – their only chance to see friends. In Scotland, under-12s are allowed to meet up outside and do not have to social distance.

One said: “If I didn’t go to the park with my son, he would never see another child his age, which is not good for his mental health, especially after all this time in lockdown.

“As it is, when we’re there, other parents I know are around and I am coming into contact with far more families than if my son was at school and I could just drop him off, then go home and work. The First Minister’s comments were just patronising, especially to working parents.”

Margaret Wilson, chair of the National Parent Forum of Scotland, who sits on the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 education recovery group, said: “[The First Minister] didn’t really put it in quite the right way.

"I can understand why some parents might be thinking ‘I’m hardly going to be standing about, talking at the school gates’. However, having heard from the scientists myself on the education recovery group, the issue is about human behaviour and how that might contribute to the spread.

"It isn’t just standing around the school gates, but there are risks if parents are going back to work, then that means that their child may go to a childminder after school and that all adds up.”

Jo Bisset, organiser for parents campaign group UsForThem Scotland, said: “Most parents will have work to be getting on with or a range of domestic tasks, which have been sidelined over the past two months while schools have been shut.

“In addition, it’s completely ridiculous to keep schools closed on the basis of how adults may or may not behave. We know that schools were safe all along, but still children’s education and social development have been compromised, in many cases beyond repair.”

Ms Sturgeon on Tuesday told the Scottish Parliament the Scottish Government would begin a phased return to schools, with the youngest pupils, in P1 to P3, starting school from Monday.

However, she said she could not yet give a return date for other pupils, who have been out of school since December.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The evidence suggests that the key risk in re-opening schools isn’t transmission of the virus within schools – instead, the risk comes from the increased contact the re-opening sparks amongst the wider adult population.

“The risk is that schools going back might lead to parents socialising more, at the school gates for example, or returning to the workplace rather than working from home.”

Eileen Prior, executive director of parents' organisation Connect, said: "The First Minister asked parents not to go back into their workplaces, not to mix, and not to think that life was getting back to normal.

"It is imperative for everyone that parents/carers continue to stick to the rules and that employers support this, so that other age groups can get back to school as soon as it is safe to do so. In other words, the parents of children who will return on February 22 are carrying the flag for all other parents and this is a serious responsibility.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “Our top priority in the phased return to schools is the safety and wellbeing of our children, young people and school staff. As the First Minister said, parents socialising more or returning to the workplace rather than working from home could risk our progress on suppressing the virus and delay a full return to schools.”

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