Scotland’s largest teaching union has urged first minister Nicola Sturgeon to do more to make schools safe from Covid-19.

The EIS has taken the unusual step of writing directly to Ms Sturgeon rather than education secretary John Swinney - on the day by which all pupils in Scotland are due to have returned to school full-time - to highlight “clear inconsistencies in Covid safety policy” for schools. The union demands that the Scottish government does more to protect pupils, staff and school communities from infection.

The letter comes within 24 hours of national clinical director Jason Leitch issuing a series of warnings to pupils and their families about how they should behave in and around schools.

Last week the first minister acknowledged that cases of the coronavirus in Scottish schools were an inevitability, on the same day when the government announced that school staff can request a test for Covid-19 even if they show no symptoms.

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In today’s letter, EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan writes: “Standing alongside you at Monday’s daily briefing, [national clinical director] Jason Leitch stated that there were concerns around people meeting outside schools in large groups. He went on to say, ‘This includes parents gathering at school gates; young people meeting friends without following the guidance on physical distances.’

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“He concluded: ‘To remind you, the maximum permitted is eight people from three households, including your own, indoors, and 15 people from five households outdoors.’ Crucially, everyone 12 and over must physically distance from everyone outside their own household. People are running the risk of spreading the virus to each other, their families and their loved ones.’

“May I ask, then, why the Scottish government thinks that it is acceptable that inside schools these rules don’t apply, where up to 33 pupils may be in a closed confined area - ie, a classroom - with as many different households as there are people?”

The letter adds: “We need the Scottish government to fund the hiring of the 3,500 teachers identified by the [General Teaching Council for Scotland] as willing to aid education recovery, so that we can reduce class sizes and make possible physical distancing. We also need stronger advice on face coverings, where physical distancing is not possible. You cannot visit a museum without one but again schools are different?”

Mr Flanagan concludes: “EIS members supported the decision to reopen schools as we understand the importance of education to our young people - that does not mean the very real concerns of teachers about school safety should be set aside. I urge you and your government to do more.”

Shortly after the EIS letter emerged, first minister Nicola Sturgeon addressed a number of safety issues around the full reopening of Scottish schools today,