New funding has been made available to improve ventilation in Scottish schools and nurseries, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said this afternoon.
In a statement about Covid in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon said that the money was on top of funding previously announced for carbon dioxide monitors.
Ms Sturgeon (pictured) also faced questioning this afternoon about national Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) exams, after education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said at the weekend that a decision on whether they will be cancelled this year might not be made until the end of March.
Ms Sturgeon said: “Before Christmas, we published revised guidance for these [school and early years] settings which included updated material on ventilation, which, amongst other things, made clear the circumstances in which use of air-cleaning devices may be appropriate.
“To assist local authorities with this, I can confirm today that we will allocate an additional £5 million of capital funding to local authorities and funded early learning and childcare providers.
“This is in addition to the money previously provided for CO2 monitors and will support any remedial work that councils need to do to improve airflow and comply with the new guidance.”
Covid: Funding to improve ventilation in schools
Ms Sturgeon previously announced in August that councils were to receive £10 million to invest in CO2 monitors to assess air quality in schools.
Nuzhat Uthmani, a teacher who has been campaigning for better ventilation measures in schools, tweeted: ”It’s amazing how much we can achieve when we stand up for what we believe in!”
EIS teaching union general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “Whilst the additional funding of £5 million for air cleaners is welcome, it, frankly, is long overdue. We have been talking about improving ventilation in schools for over a year and now, in January 2022, we finally have funding made available but it will take weeks for this to be processed, air cleaners procured and then supplied to schools. In the meantime, teachers and pupils will continue to face the challenge of Omicron in busy, crowded schools.”
Scottish Labour education spokesperson Michael Marra said that, while a “token £5 million” had been announced for air purifiers, “A real programme would fit two air filters in each class.”
Ross Greer, Scottish Greens education spokesperson, said: “This extra funding is most welcome and something the Greens have consistently raised with ministers. Teachers and support staff are contacting me daily with their concerns about the risk of Omicron in their classrooms. Many need options to improve ventilation beyond opening windows, which is particularly challenging in poorly heated buildings and on cold winter days.
“Scottish government guidance is clear on the other mitigation measures which may be needed, so I’m glad that is now backed up by extra cash.”
Overall, Ms Sturgeon said the Covid situation in Scotland is now “undoubtedly serious but perhaps less so than it might have been, and there are also some signs that we may be starting to turn a corner”, but she stressed that “the position is still fragile and significant uncertainties remain”.
She added: “And, of course, we do not yet know what impact the post-Christmas return to work and school will have on the level of infection.
“What we do know is that staff absences resulting from high levels of infection are causing disruption in the economy and in critical services and that the NHS remains under very severe pressure indeed.”
The first minister’s headline announcement today was that the attendance limit of 500 at large outdoor events will be lifted from Monday 17 January.
Yesterday, Ms Somerville took to Twitter in an attempt to provide reassurance over the 2022 exams.
She did this after a broadcast interview on Sunday in which she said that it may not be until the end of March before a definitive decision is made on whether national SQA exams will go ahead for the first time since before Covid, in 2019.
This morning Scottish Labour education spokesperson Michael Marra tweeted that he had submitted an urgent question to the Scottish Parliament’s presiding officer about Ms Somerville’s “social media statement”.
He wrote: “Urgent detail is needed on what support will be made available, and by what criteria. Pupils, parents and teachers left in the dark once more.”
