JOHN Swinney has been urged to use emergency coronavirus powers to ensure proper home schooling amid fears of a scatter-gun approach by councils.

The Scottish Tories said the Education Secretary must ensure all councils provided a minimum standard of support, such as virtual teaching and work sent to pupils’ homes. 

The call follows reports of a postcode lottery in the help offered to parents by Scotland’s 32 councils, and fears vulnerable and deprived children in particular are being left behind.

While many private schools are running all-day online teaching, at least five Scottish councils are refusing even to consider online teaching because of security issues.

One of Nicola Sturgeon’s priorities in the current parliament has been to close the attainment gap between well-off and poor pupils, an aim the lockdown has upended. 

The Coronavirus Act recently passed by Westminster enables the Scottish Government to intervene on educational matters with local authorities.

Schedule 17 gives ministers wide-ranging powers to issue “educational continuity direction” to any school operator in Scotland.

It empowers ministers to do ask schools to carry out extra school care and alter the dates of terms, holidays and exams.

It also contains a catch-all power that can see councils required to take general or particular actions “that the Scottish Ministers consider reasonable”.

The Tories said this could be used to set minimum standards on provision of home schooling, including virtual teaching and materials sent to pupils’ homes.

READ MORE: Neil Mackay: Scotland’s handling of schools in lockdown is a national disgrace

Tory education spokesman Jamie Greene MSP said: “The Scottish Government now has the power, ability and resources needed to ensure that local authorities deliver consistent and effective home schooling for every child, right across the country.

“Without this intervention many deprived children could be seriously disadvantaged by the lack of educational provision during lockdown.

“Worrying local and regional disparities have emerged, with some local authorities rising to the home-schooling challenge while others are clearly struggling with technology and resource.

“There is simply no excuse for John Swinney not to use the powers afforded to him within the Coronavirus Act, he must take bold action to ensure that no child is left behind during this crisis.

“These are unprecedented times which merit unprecedented levels of intervention and leadership from Education Scotland and the Scottish Government.”

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, Scotland's largest teaching union, said: "The challenge around remote schooling is not one of guidance being required, it is one of poverty – a situation exacerbated by a decade of austerity.

"In this unprecedented situation, teachers are continuing to offer as much support to pupils as possible – both through online platforms and by other means.

"The potential for some young people to become disengaged from the school community, through no fault of their own, remains a significant concern, however, which is why at the current time, the priority must continue to be supporting young people’s mental and physical wellbeing while also offering an appropriate level of educational support.” 

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There is a huge amount of good work underway by schools to deliver education remotely through digital and other means to children and young people in Scotland and we applaud teachers for the efforts they are putting in during this period of disruption.

“The Covid-19 Education Recovery Group is considering how to ensure learners are able to continue accessing good quality home learning. T

"The group, chaired by the Deputy First Minister, is working with key stakeholders to consider all practical options.

"The Coronavirus Act gave powers to provide for a wide range of circumstances, and we are keeping these under review as the situation progresses.”