AN OVERWHELMING majority of teachers in Scotland have said they are not confident social distancing can be maintained in the classroom on the eve of the re-opening of schools, it has emerged.
A poll of nearly 30,000 teachers finally completed underlines the serious safety concerns they have in advance of primary and secondary schools re-opening from Tuesday.
Schools in the Borders and Shetland are first to reopen with most local authorities following on Wednesday.
EIS, Scotland's biggest teaching union, which carried out the poll, says it is continuing talks at the 11th hour at national and local level to seek resolutions to teachers' concerns.
Some 81.9% have said they registered varying degrees of a lack of confidence over the ability to keep the required 2m distance in the classroom - as they registered further concerns about Covid-19 safety in schools.
Three in four have said they feel unsafe returning to school with the majority saying they feel uncomfortable teaching without social distancing between pupils.
And some three in four say there should be priority testing available for asymptomatic teachers, with a further 57% saying it should also be available for pupils.
A total of 29,867 teachers completed the survey from its launch on August 4 to the Monday morning – the largest survey return the union has ever had.
Some 60% expressed support for the decision to reopen schools but a similar figure, 66%, expressing anxiety and a lack of confidence that sufficient mitigations would be in place.
Just 1 in 5 expressed confidence that schools are currently safe with the union saying that indicateds "that much more needs to be done to reassure staff that schools are safe to work in".
Some 53% expressed a lack of confidence that an established capacity to test, trace and isolate is in place to support a safe return, with only 28% of teachers being ‘confident or very confident’ of this.
Commenting on the findings, EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said, “These findings issue a stark warning to local authorities and the Scottish Government ahead of pupils returning to schools from tomorrow.
"Our survey findings confirm that, even as they return to schools across the country , Scotland’s teachers are extremely concerned about the risks associated with potential Covid-19 infection in schools. This worry will be particularly acute for the significant percentage of teachers identified as being in an ‘at risk’ category (16% of respondents), as well as those living with a family member who is in a high-risk group.
"There is significant concern amongst all teachers on issues such as the large number of pupils in each class, inability to maintain social distancing, and the need for the wearing of face coverings to ensure safety in some circumstances.
"These concerns grow more acute based on the age of pupils being taught, with secondary teachers expressing a particularly high level of concern over the potential risks of teaching young adults for long periods of time in an enclosed classroom environment.”
The EIS is to share the results with Scottish Government and local authorities, and is continuing to seek discussions on the mitigations that teachers still want to see – such as sufficient social distancing, testing for asymptomatic staff, and the use of face coverings where required to ensure safety.
It comes as the NASUWT teachers union in Scotland put Scottish councils and the government "on notice" over potential legal consequences as concerns continue to surface over the safety of the re-opening of schools.
In a stark letter to Scotland's education directors, the NASUWT teachers union in Scotland said it was warning employers and the Government that it was "reserving our members’ legal rights" over any issues arising from the return to full-time education.
The union says employers have found the timescale for completing their plans for next week's opening "very challenging" and said it was aware that a number were unable to complete them before the end of the summer term.
Mr Flanagan added: “The EIS has consistently said that we support the principle of re-opening schools so that teachers can, once again, offer their full support in a classroom setting for pupils. But we have also been consistent in the demand that schools can only re-open to pupils if this is managed in a way that can assure the safety of those pupils, staff and the wider community.
"The very clear message from these findings is that teachers are far from convinced that all necessary steps have been put in place by the Scottish Government and local authorities to make schools safe. This must be addressed now, with pupils returning this week.
"The EIS will be sharing the results of our survey with local authorities and the Scottish Government, and continuing talks at national and local level to seek resolutions to the concerns raised by our members. It is in everyone’s interests for solutions to be found, to ensure that our schools can operate safely as pupils return to the classroom this week.”
A survey by the NASUWT teacher's union in early July revealed that nearly half of teachers who responded did not feel prepared to return to their school or college in August and just 22% said they felt safe or very safe as a result of the provisions their employer was putting in place to mitigate the risks of Covid-19.
A Scottish Government spokesmans said: “We agree that the health and wellbeing of pupils, students and staff should be the top priority when it comes to re-opening schools and colleges.
“The guidance on preparing for the start of the new school term sets out the approach that must be taken, including a number of health mitigations. They include risk assessments, enhanced hygiene measures and Test and Protect.
"In addition, a surveillance programme is being developed for schools, where regular testing and survey data will identify symptoms and infections in the school population. This will allow regular reporting on incidences of infection and inform the ongoing development of guidance for schools.”
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