Allow councils to close individual schools on health grounds, MSPs urged

The EIS said local authorities have had to keep schools open even when hundreds of children and numerous staff members have been off with Covid.

MSPs were told councils should be given the power to close schools on health grounds (PA)

Councils should be given the power to close schools down if it is deemed necessary on public health grounds, teachers’ leaders have said.

The EIS union has made the case for local authorities to be given the ability to shut schools in the event of disease outbreaks and future pandemics.

Assistant secretary David Belsey told MSPs on Holyrood’s Education Committee that as its stands, councils can only close schools if they are unable to staff them.

He said that as a result, councils have had to keep schools open even when “hundreds” of children and “large numbers” of staff had coronavirus.

Local authorities should be able to close the school and move to online learning

David Belsey, EIS assistant secretary

Mr Belsey told MSPs: “At the moment the opening and closures of schools remain within the power of the Government, acting with the public health authorities. There is actually very limited ability for a local authority to close a school.

“You had some schools in Glasgow which had hundreds of pupils ill, which had large numbers of teachers ill, but because they could get in supply teachers to physically staff them, and by merging classes and so forth, they kept the school open.

“Because the local authority, as we understand it, didn’t have the lawful authority to close the school on public health grounds on its own basis.”

He made the plea to MSPs considering the Scottish Government’s Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill.

The legislation creates new laws to respond to public health emergencies, similar to the emergency laws introduced in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Ministers acted to close all of Scotland’s schools when the pandemic first hit in March 2020, with youngsters having to do their classwork online from home. There was then a similar situation in January 2021, when pupils had a period of online learning after the Christmas break.

Schools were shut in March 2020 when coronavirus hit, and then again in the early part of 2021, with youngsters expected to do their learning at home instead. (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Mr Belsey argued that while Scottish ministers should retain “strategic oversight” and be able to make decisions on school closures, councils should also have powers to act, depending on their local circumstances.

“Local authorities should be able to close the school and move to online learning as well,” he said.

“We are looking for greater flexibility. That’s not a reflection on Government’s ability or its rights to make strategic decisions for Scotland as a whole.”

He added that in the run-up to Christmas 2020, when consideration was being given to closing schools earlier than planned for the festive break, “local authorities were telling us they couldn’t close schools down early before Christmas because of the way the powers were set up”.

Mr Belsey insisted it is still “worthwhile” for the Government to have the ability to “close all schools in response to a national emergency”.

But he added: “Sometimes the events within a particular community or school develop in such a way that we believe that school should be closed.

“The local authority are unable to close that school because they don’t have the authority to do so. What we are saying is we believe the local authority should have the flexibility.

“In addition to the powers that governments would have under this Bill, the local authority should also have the ability to close that school.”