(06-23-2020, 04:23 PM)Little Bit Of The Boycey Wrote: Scoring political points notwithstanding, opening everything up ASAP for the economy.

Aye I have been chatting about this with my bursd today, we thought the same that it was economic interests shining through.

I don't have a horse in this race as don't have any kids but I am pretty frustrated with what was decided today. It completely goes against what we've been planning and to try and palm it off as it always being a 'contingency' is a bit pathetic imo.

Nowhere in our roadmap does it say schools will be back in full with no social distancing so it's left me with little faith in this route out for Scotland that we haven't even fully implemented phase 2 and already we're off course.

If the science is there to prove it's fine then cool but seems like they've just buckled to pressure. Pretty disappointed with them tbh.

Schools opening is 2 months away, it's completely feasible that in an ideal world they'd be opening schools up normally at that time, all they've been doing up til now is erring on the side of caution while not being helped in the slightest by Westminster going Gung Ho and opening things up left, right and centre. 

The Scottish government have always said that science will dictate their decisions so I don't see this being done without the science saying it's safe to do so.

Definitely seems like a pretty major u turn based on recent public pressure and the decisions from the UK gvt on pushing through opening up.

What's the situation with (public) English schools? I thought they were in chaos with no plan.

(06-23-2020, 04:41 PM)Morph Wrote: Definitely seems like a pretty major u turn based on recent public pressure and the decisions from the UK gvt on pushing through opening up.

I don't see it like that.

Scotland is a small country and within the general population (outside care homes etc...) the spread of infection is starting to be really controlled now, this will improve by August. The school age group is also by far the least affected, so as long as the spread of infection is under control there is no reason why schools cannot open for August (I assume at the end of the month?)

A second wave will likely arrive but hopefully through monitoring we can react quickly and can always reverse decisions when necessary.

I feel like too many people are attached to the idea of lockdown now. Restricting children's freedom, socialisation or ability to learn and grow is not acceptable if it is safe to do so.

I'm not really bothered about arguing about the effectiveness of what they're proposing.  I can understand why opening the schools has benefits, I am questioning why such a big decision has been made with little explanation and the 'coincidental' timing alongside the easing of UK measures.

Hopefully the CMO can explain the science behind it over the next few days because it feels strange that we were emphasising the importance of a very slow return to normality then contradictory to that we've made quite a drastic  change to schools reopening without distancing which is very different to the route map we were told about.

I know we can't be in lockdown forever but feel that's a fairly big jump from what I was expecting, especially since this sort of blended learning had been discussed as potentially lasting for ages.

I guess our discussion has prematurely ended then. You already are sure it's because the Scottish government was pressured by the UK government. No value in offering an alternative viewpoint.

For the last 1-2 months people are caring less about the rules, especially with groups of kids about, yet cases are still dropping.

The point of lockdown was to stop the NHS being overwhelmed. They needed time to treat the most vulnerable and flattening the curve was key. Mission accomplished there. But the virus is still active, and there will still be the some needing ICU treatment. However as long as the numbers are low and the NHS can function normally, then we can continue opening up as we are doing.

Boris has been racing ahead with his pals pressing him for self interest and economic reasons. This has at least allowed Scotland to see how England fares first. Things still not great in England, but if numbers still continue to drop, then Scotland is well ahead of England in potential to reopen.

That said, the potential for a second wave will always be looming though I'd trust the Scottish government to react quicker with contingency plans than Boris and his chums.

I thought the SNP were saying only a week ago that blended learning would last for the majority if not all of the next academic year. Also potential for 2021 exams to be pushed back a bit?

A week later it's back to full time classroom learning by August.

I don't have kids so not really bothered either way but that's a pretty massive change in strategy over the course of a week. Clearly a week is a long time in science as well as politics.

Didn't think there was any hard and fast plans, just that blended learning was an option and as things stand thats what was likely, but clearly the numbers are still coming down and they feel by August it'll be okay to go back to full classes. 

I don't buy the “Pressured by Westminster” argument at all, they've not bowed to any pressure from them so far.

(06-23-2020, 05:24 PM)Charlie Kelly Wrote: Didn't think there was any hard and fast plans, just that blended learning was an option and as things stand thats what was likely, but clearly the numbers are still coming down and they feel by August it'll be okay to go back to full classes. 

I don't buy the “Pressured by Westminster” argument at all, they've not bowed to any pressure from them so far.

More likely pressure from parents and businesses.

Sturgeon at FMQs 6 days ago, “contingency” hasn't just been made up today.

Speaking at First Minister's Questions, Ms Sturgeon said: “The approach that we have decided that we must have in place as a contingency, with blended learning, is exactly what the United Kingdom Government is doing for England and what the Welsh Government is doing for Wales.”

Later, the First Minister's official spokesperson said that the blended model "has to be devised as a contingency", and stressed that “it's not where we want to end up” but said “these things are kept under constant review”.

The spokesperson added: “If we keep making progress in terms of the headline figures and numbers, we will get to a place where we are getting back, moving through the stages of coming out of lockdown as quickly as possible and we'll get back to a stage where we can hopefully get pupils and teachers back to full-time face to face school learning as soon as possible.”

(06-23-2020, 04:25 PM)S.J. Wrote:  

There's absolutely nothing wrong with what I've said.

If these people really cared about the attainment gap, they'd be pushing for genuine reform to the system instead of clamouring for a return to the exact normality that has entrenched those inequalities. You just need to read the Sunday Times' “manifesto” from their last edition to see that the attainment gap is not important to them beyond a campaign shouting point. The key media figures from the campaign include Jack McConnell (education advisor to a company that is actively lobbying for privatisation of education), Andy McIver (on the payroll of an anti-Teaching Union lobbying firm) and a list of parliamentary candidates for the Tories and Labour masquerading as “concerned parents”. It's agenda driven, and parents who are genuinely worried are being exploited by this.

The position has always been to fully reopen when safe, and planning was carried out for a scenario whereby that wouldn't be possible. That was made explicitly clear throughout all of our planning meetings/discussions over the past term.

(06-23-2020, 04:30 PM)Morph Wrote: Aye I have been chatting about this with my bursd today, we thought the same that it was economic interests shining through.

I don't have a horse in this race as don't have any kids but I am pretty frustrated with what was decided today.  It completely goes against what we've been planning and to try and palm it off as it always being a 'contingency' is a bit pathetic imo.

Nowhere in our roadmap does it say schools will be back in full with no social distancing so it's left me with little faith in this route out for Scotland that we haven't even fully implemented phase 2 and already we're off course.  

If the science is there to prove it's fine then cool but seems like they've just buckled to pressure.  Pretty disappointed with them tbh.

The evidence suggests that it may well be safe to reopen in full in August, depending on how progress continues through the coming weeks. The actual plan hasn't changed today; the messaging has and not in a particularly helpful way imo. We've moved from preparing people for the possible worst case scenario (blended learning for anything up to a full year - which, as much as I piss and moan about Swinney, he was clear about it being no more than a possibility when he said it), to preparing them for a guaranteed best case scenario. That is an issue when it comes to decision making down the line.

People aren't acknowledging the fact that our normality - the status quo - was part of the problem surrounding education during these last few months, and we are throwing away a chance to go in a better direction as a result of a politically motivated campaign supported by the middle class families that the state education system benefits most. That isn't to say that it wasn't going to be squandered anyway - but the power of the status quo has killed it.

Chat of people being addicted to lockdown etc is silly and untrue. My timetable for next year under blended learning looks easy, but it looks utterly miserable. I don't want it any more than any of my colleagues.

What stage are you guys at in terms of restaurants / bars etc?

(06-23-2020, 06:05 PM)Little Bit Of The Boycey Wrote: There's absolutely nothing wrong with what I've said.

If these people really cared about the attainment gap, they'd be pushing for genuine reform to the system instead of clamouring for a return to the exact normality that has entrenched those inequalities. You just need to read the Sunday Times' “manifesto” from their last edition to see that the attainment gap is not important to them beyond a campaign shouting point. The key media figures from the campaign include Jack McConnell (education advisor to a company that is actively lobbying for privatisation of education), Andy McIver (on the payroll of an anti-Teaching Union lobbying firm) and a list of parliamentary candidates for the Tories and Labour masquerading as “concerned parents”. It's agenda driven, and parents who are genuinely worried are being exploited by this.

The position has always been to fully reopen when safe, and planning was carried out for a scenario whereby that wouldn't be possible. That was made explicitly clear throughout all of our planning meetings/discussions over the past term.


The evidence suggests that it may well be safe to reopen in full in August, depending on how progress continues through the coming weeks. The actual plan hasn't changed today; the messaging has and not in a particularly helpful way imo. We've moved from preparing people for the possible worst case scenario (blended learning for anything up to a full year - which, as much as I piss and moan about Swinney, he was clear about it being no more than a possibility when he said it), to preparing them for a guaranteed best case scenario. That is an issue when it comes to decision making down the line.

People aren't acknowledging the fact that our normality - the status quo - was part of the problem surrounding education during these last few months, and we are throwing away a chance to go in a better direction as a result of a politically motivated campaign supported by the middle class families that the state education system benefits most. That isn't to say that it wasn't going to be squandered anyway - but the power of the status quo has killed it.

Chat of people being addicted to lockdown etc is silly and untrue. My timetable for next year under blended learning looks easy, but it looks utterly miserable. I don't want it any more than any of my colleagues.

Absolutely nailed it. Pozzy.

Get them back, get Begbie stuck behind the desk 10 hours a day through the summer to make up for lost time

(06-23-2020, 06:08 PM)Hendricks Wrote: What stage are you guys at in terms of restaurants / bars etc?

I just put a post up on Facebook saying we're taking bookings from July 17th with limited space in the hope we're open. 

Chucked up a competition for a free meal for four and a bottle of wine. Been up 20 minutes and it's been seen 4,000 times. Folk love free stuff

Can you no do takeaways Kash? All the local places to me are now just doing takeaways

We did them to begin with, but after the first week everybody had started going back to the normal takeaways or cooking at home, and then the three folk who were delivering for me had to go into two week isolation so that's when it stopped. 

Wouldn't start it up again now because the demand has died out here, and I'm trying to get started on getting this new menu right, plus I'd have to buy in a whole load of different ingredients for the takeaway thing. The grant has seen us through and taken care of everything so we're not in a bad position.

Decent that you're surviving though

Will get in for some scran when we play Queens