Safe Schools
- Submitted by: Ross Greer, West Scotland, Scottish Green Party.
- Date lodged: Monday, 16 November 2020
- Motion reference: S5M-23385
- Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Motions as amended
That the Parliament believes that education is best delivered in the classroom, but that making schools safe for pupils, teachers and staff must be a top priority of government during the pandemic; notes that, as of 10 November 2020, 29,486 pupils and 2,615 staff were absent from Scottish schools for COVID-19-related reasons, with absence rates affecting areas with higher levels of deprivation more; expresses concern regarding reports that some school staff have been instructed to turn off the Protect Scotland app when in school and may have felt under pressure to continue to attend schools even when notified by the app of a potential exposure risk; considers it unacceptable that some clinically vulnerable teachers have felt pressured to return to in-person teaching against specific advice from their GPs to the contrary and in the absence of an overall national strategy on how to deal with school staff with chronic or underlying health conditions; calls on the Scottish Government to work with local authorities to ensure that any vulnerable school staff member who is medically unable to attend school in person without being placed at unacceptable risk is better supported to either work from home or in a safer alternative setting, or, if this is not possible, to potentially be placed on leave without loss of income; expresses disappointment in government efforts to adequately prepare resource levels for COVID-19-related staff absences; calls on the Scottish Government to deliver funding for the purpose of recruiting at least an additional 2,000 full-time teachers to ensure that all schools can maintain safe staffing levels while managing absences due to COVID-19, and further calls on the Scottish Government to make regular voluntary COVID-19 testing widely available for asymptomatic staff and senior pupils across all of Scotland's schools; notes that participation rates in online learning during the pandemic have been variable across the country, with some pupils and teachers left without access to adequate digital infrastructure or devices to fully facilitate online learning; further notes that, in the absence of nationally co-ordinated online learning materials to support the curriculum, many young people in Scotland missed out on valuable education despite the best efforts and endeavours of their parents and teachers, and calls on the Scottish Government and its agencies to ensure that no child is left behind if required to study from home, as well as investigating the possibility of resourcing improvements to ventilation in the school estate and producing a report based on Test and Protect that examines infection patterns within school settings.
Supported by:
Patrick Harvie
Vote
Result 64 for, 1 against, 56 abstained, 8 did not vote Vote Passed
Scottish National Party
- 0 for
- 1 against
- 56 abstained
- 4 did not vote
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For
0Against
- Graeme Dey
Abstained
- Aileen Campbell
- Alasdair Allan
- Alex Neil
- Angela Constance
- Angus MacDonald
- Annabelle Ewing
- Ash Regan
- Ben Macpherson
- Bill Kidd
- Bob Doris
- Bruce Crawford
- Christina McKelvie
- Christine Grahame
- Clare Adamson
- Clare Haughey
- Colin Beattie
- Emma Harper
- Fiona Hyslop
- Fulton MacGregor
- Gail Ross
- George Adam
- Gil Paterson
- Gillian Martin
- Gordon MacDonald
- Humza Yousaf
- Ivan McKee
- James Dornan
- Jamie Hepburn
- Jenny Gilruth
- Joan McAlpine
- Joe FitzPatrick
- John Mason
- John Swinney
- Kate Forbes
- Keith Brown
- Kenneth Gibson
- Kevin Stewart
- Linda Fabiani
- Mairi Gougeon
- Maree Todd
- Maureen Watt
- Michael Matheson
- Michael Russell
- Paul Wheelhouse
- Richard Lochhead
- Richard Lyle
- Rona Mackay
- Roseanna Cunningham
- Ruth Maguire
- Sandra White
- Shirley-Anne Somerville
- Shona Robison
- Stewart Stevenson
- Stuart McMillan
- Tom Arthur
- Willie Coffey
Did not vote
- David Torrance
- Fergus Ewing
- Jeane Freeman
- Nicola Sturgeon
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- 30 for
- 0 against
- 0 abstained
- 1 did not vote
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For
- Adam Tomkins
- Alexander Stewart
- Alison Harris
- Annie Wells
- Bill Bowman
- Brian Whittle
- Dean Lockhart
- Donald Cameron
- Edward Mountain
- Finlay Carson
- Gordon Lindhurst
- Graham Simpson
- Jackson Carlaw
- Jamie Greene
- Jamie Halcro Johnston
- Jeremy Balfour
- John Scott
- Liam Kerr
- Liz Smith
- Margaret Mitchell
- Maurice Corry
- Maurice Golden
- Michelle Ballantyne
- Miles Briggs
- Murdo Fraser
- Oliver Mundell
- Peter Chapman
- Rachael Hamilton
- Ruth Davidson
- Tom Mason
Against
0Abstained
0Did not vote
- Alexander Burnett
Scottish Labour
- 22 for
- 0 against
- 0 abstained
- 1 did not vote
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For
- Alex Rowley
- Anas Sarwar
- Claire Baker
- Claudia Beamish
- Colin Smyth
- Daniel Johnson
- David Stewart
- Elaine Smith
- Iain Gray
- Jackie Baillie
- James Kelly
- Johann Lamont
- Lewis Macdonald
- Mark Griffin
- Mary Fee
- Monica Lennon
- Neil Bibby
- Neil Findlay
- Pauline McNeill
- Rhoda Grant
- Richard Leonard
- Sarah Boyack
Against
0Abstained
0Did not vote
- Jenny Marra
Scottish Green Party
- 6 for
- 0 against
- 0 abstained
- 0 did not vote
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For
- Alison Johnstone
- Andy Wightman
- John Finnie
- Mark Ruskell
- Patrick Harvie
- Ross Greer
Against
0Abstained
0Did not vote
0Scottish Liberal Democrats
- 5 for
- 0 against
- 0 abstained
- 0 did not vote
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For
- Alex Cole-Hamilton
- Beatrice Wishart
- Liam McArthur
- Mike Rumbles
- Willie Rennie
Against
0Abstained
0Did not vote
0Independent
- 1 for
- 0 against
- 0 abstained
- 1 did not vote
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For
- Mark McDonald
Against
0Abstained
0Did not vote
- Derek Mackay
No Party Affiliation
- 0 for
- 0 against
- 0 abstained
- 1 did not vote
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For
0Against
0Abstained
0Did not vote
- Ken Macintosh
Original motion text
That the Parliament believes that education is best delivered in the classroom, but that making schools safe for pupils, teachers and staff must be a top priority of government during the pandemic; notes that, as of 10 November 2020, 29,486 pupils and 2,615 staff were absent from Scottish schools for COVID-19-related reasons, with absence rates affecting areas with higher levels of deprivation more; expresses concern regarding reports that some school staff have been instructed to turn off the Protect Scotland app when in school and may have felt under pressure to continue to attend schools even when notified by the app of a potential exposure risk; considers it unacceptable that some clinically vulnerable teachers have felt pressured to return to in-person teaching against specific advice from their GPs to the contrary and in the absence of an overall national strategy on how to deal with school staff with chronic or underlying health conditions; calls on the Scottish Government to work with local authorities to ensure that any vulnerable school staff member who is medically unable to attend school in person without being placed at unacceptable risk is better supported to either work from home or in a safer alternative setting, or, if this is not possible, to potentially be placed on leave without loss of income; expresses disappointment in government efforts to adequately prepare resource levels for COVID-19-related staff absences; calls on the Scottish Government to deliver funding for the purpose of recruiting at least an additional 2,000 full-time teachers to ensure that all schools can maintain safe staffing levels while managing absences due to COVID-19, and further calls on the Scottish Government to make regular voluntary COVID-19 testing widely available for asymptomatic staff and senior pupils across all of Scotland’s schools.
Accepted amendments
Safe Schools - Amendment - Amendment
Submitted by: Jamie Greene, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Result 64 for, 58 against, 0 abstained, 7 did not vote Vote Passed
Defeated amendments
Safe Schools - Amendment - Amendment
Submitted by: John Swinney, Perthshire North, Scottish National Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Supported by: Richard Lochhead, Maree Todd
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Result 58 for, 64 against, 0 abstained, 7 did not vote Vote Defeated
Amendments that have not been voted on
Safe Schools - Amendment - Amendment
Submitted by: Iain Gray, East Lothian, Scottish Labour, Date lodged: Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, November 18, 2020