TEACHERS are fearing for the safety of staff and pupils returning to schools after the Christmas break.

The teacher’s union, NASUWT, has raised concerns after the government announced there would be no change to plans to bring schools back after the holidays with no delay. 

The union’s Scotland officer, Jane Peckham, accused the government of peddling “rumour and speculation” over the school return date. 

She said: “This announcement yesterday indicates yet again that government have no intention to use the promised contingency of blended learning, even in the highest Covid level areas. 

“Remote learning could have been a solution to maintaining education provision whilst reducing the risk of virus transmission in the run-up to Christmas.”

The union claimed there was “strong evidence of in-school virus”, something the Scottish government has strongly disputed. 

Figures from the Office for National Statistic, analysed by the union, suggested that as of November 10, teachers appeared to be infected at a “significantly higher” rate than the rest of the population.

Patrick Roach, the NASUWT’s general secretary, called on the government to “seriously consider” introducing more safety measures, including so-called blended learning, to reduce the risk of teachers and pupils of spreading coronavirus.

He said: “There is genuine concern amongst teachers about the continued risk of virus transmission within schools and the Scottish government will need to carefully consider what additional measures may be needed in January to protect pupils and staff if it is not going to delay the reopening of schools in January.”

Ms Peckham added: “Remote learning could have been a solution to maintaining education provision whilst reducing the risk of virus transmission in the run-up to Christmas.”

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "As the Deputy First Minister said yesterday, the judgement not to alter the school holiday dates was based on public health advice.

“We have put in place robust measures developed with the Education Recovery Group, which includes local authority and union representatives, to help us to protect our school community.

"There is no current direct evidence that transmission within schools plays a significant contributory role in driving increased rates of infection among children and ONS data has shown no evidence of any difference between the positivity rates of teachers and other school staff, relative to other worker groups of a similar age.

“Teachers and school leaders need and deserve a break over the festive period. Public Health Scotland and the National Contact Tracing Centre are offering support to local authorities to deal with Covid-19 contact tracing issues, so that local arrangements can be put in place to avoid school leaders having to deal with them over the holidays.”