TEACHERS in Fife "will not agree to return to school until it is deemed safe to do so".

That's the message from the Fife branch of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union after talks with Fife Council.

An update was sent to members following a meeting with Carrie Lindsay, the executive director of education, to discuss the return to classrooms.

A spokesperson for Fife EIS said: "It was suggested that staff would go into school in June for reorientation and to see how the school would operate.

"We made it clear that staff should only be in school when it is safe, solely to prepare for August and only to undertake tasks that cannot be completed at home.

"The default position is still to work from home."

She added: "The point was made that the directorate need to be mindful of staff fears as well as scientific evidence.

"The children’s education is important but so is the mental and physical health of staff.

"We will not agree to return to school until it is deemed safe to do so."

Safety concerns are paramount for the council too and measures taken to ensure the virus does not spread are likely to include a reduction in capacity in schools, with the briefing suggesting that could be as low as 30 per cent.

That will mean pupils coming back part-time and the council has already said that there will be a mix of learning in school and at home for the foreseeable future.

The union confirmed that "there are as yet no firm proposals" and risk assessments, which will also include checking buildings are safe, will need to be carried out at each school before staff can return.

In her briefing, Ms Lindsay said: "All staff will need to complete a mandatory induction before they can return to their place of work.

"This is to make sure that everyone is familiar with all the changes in building layout, structure of the day, hygiene procedures and such like, before they enter the building."

The union are worried about certain measures and the spokesperson said: "Behaviour management was raised and the concerns around physical distancing by those who are too young to adhere and those that refuse to adhere to the rules."

Other problems to be resolved include how practical subjects will be taught, safe transport for pupils, childcare for teachers returning to work and how to ease the transition for youngsters going from primary to secondary school.

The starting date of August 11 – the Scottish Government's intention is for all schools to open that day – has presented another issue as different local authorities often have different term times, which have evolved over time due to traditions like local holidays.

It means an extra five days' holiday need to be found in the calendar for Fife, as schools weren't scheduled initially to go back until the following week.

The spokesperson explained: "In Fife, that gives us three options to give teachers the required holiday: finish this term one week early; finish the summer term 2021/2022 one week early; spread the five days throughout the year."