A Scottish teaching union wants no inspections or parents’ evenings to take place this year - even if the remote parents’ evenings are proposed.

The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) is arguing that the 2020-21 school year should be about “education recovery” and that the main priorities for schools should safety, and learning and teaching.

In new guidance for members published on its website, the SSTA is calling for other tasks to be “stood down” - including school inspections and parents meetings, whether they take place “physically or remotely”.

Background: School inspections in Scotland suspended next year

Survey: ‘Scottish teachers expect to contract coronavirus’

Parents: National home learning plans ‘not good enough’

The guidance states: “This is not a ‘normal’ school year and many of the tasks that have been expected of schools should be stood down in preference of supporting teaching and learning. The SSTA will also be urging the Scottish government not to reintroduce school inspections this year.”

SSTA general secretary Seamus Searson told Tes Scotland that the recommendation stemmed from a desire to keep school communities safe by minimising unnecessary visitors.

He said that there were also concerns about the use of video conferencing to conduct parent-teacher meetings because teachers could be filmed without their knowledge. He added that if parents had concerns they could “lift the phone and call the teacher any time”.

Mr Searson said: “Schools have enough to contend with just now without the stress of an inspection coming up. We need to put a halt on that for the time being.”

Inspection body Education Scotland said in June that it would be putting its inspection regime on hold this academic year.

The body said it expected that inspections would resume at some stage during 2020-21, but no date was specified - it simply said inspection would begin again when it was “safe and appropriate to do so”.