Schools in Scotland and Wales to close

SCHOOLS in Scotland and Wales are to close from the end of this week, it was announced today.

In a briefing in Edinburgh, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon conceded that closures were now inevitable, with a number of schools across Scotland already closed due to staff shortages.

The Welsh government said that it too would be closing schools, promising that sites would be repurposed in order to help “people in need” as well as those “involved in the immediate response” to the outbreak.

The move piled pressure on the Westminster government to follow suit, with PM Boris Johnson pledging action on schools “imminently” as the Star went to press.

Exact details of closures north of the border have not yet been announced, with a statement due to be given in Holyrood by Scotland’s Education Secretary John Swinney.

However, Ms Sturgeon said that people should not assume that schools would reopen after the Easter break, and she could not promise they would open before the summer holidays.

For those sitting exams later this year, the Scottish Qualifications Authority said that contingency plans, including partially opened schools during exam diets, could be put in place.

The moves were welcomed by opposition leaders. Scottish Labour’s Richard Leonard said that key workers must remain available to continue to work.

He said: “We are in unprecedented times and the effort of staff across all of our public services to protect individuals, families and communities in this time of crisis cannot be underestimated.

“This is a fast-moving situation and we will only get through this by working together.”

The Scottish Greens outlined plans to continue free school meals, suggesting that council staff from suspended services such as leisure centres, libraries and schools could be used to deliver meals, potentially alongside Royal Mail workers.

In Wales, plans were also being drawn up on how to manage pupils with approaching exams.

Welsh Education Minister Kirsty Williams said: “I can announce we are bringing forward the Easter break for schools in Wales.

“Schools across Wales will close for statutory provision of education at the latest on March 20.

“I have been clear up to now that the continuity of education and the wellbeing of our learners has been at the heart of my decision-making. This will always be the case.”

Ms Williams said that the Welsh government was looking into how children who receive free school meals and those with additional learning needs could still be supported, and said parents should speak with their usual childcare providers for care over the extended break.

She said that childcare settings would remain open until the chief medical officer and Public Health Wales advise that they should close, with head teachers and teaching bodies saying that support arrangements for vulnerable children and children of key workers were yet to be finalised.