School in Badenoch and Strathspey to re-open for children of key workers
Highland Council will be re-opening a school in Badenoch and Strathspey for the children of key workers, it is understood, after concerns about the lack of local provision.
Education chiefs are considering Aviemore Primary School being used in some capacity for the youngsters of healthcare workers and other essential staff during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Before the Easter school holidays started, the nearest available school was Millburn Academy in Inverness – a round trip of more than 80 miles in some cases for key worker parents.
That had led to criticisms of a lack of child care provision and extra pressure on those on the frontline against coronavirus.
A Highland Council spokesman said: “We are actively looking to open a childcare hub for children aged six to 14 in the Badenoch and Strathspey area to support local key workers who have no other sources of child care.
“The intention is to have this in place in the next few days and parents who have applied for places will be contacted directly to be offered places once this has been established.
“Children aged zero to five have already been offered places with local nurseries and childminders and the council will continue to provide support to younger children in Badenoch and Strathspey in this way.”
The move has been welcomed by Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes (SNP) who believes it will help reduce the burden on some local key workers.
Ms Forbes MSP said: “I am delighted that the council are willing to provide a childcare hub in the strath because expecting working parents to travel to and from Inverness every day was not feasible.
“I raised the issue with the council after a local mum got in touch. This will make all the difference for local families of essential workers.
“It should only be essential, key workers who can access childcare – they are working on the frontline to combat Covid-19.
“As such, they need all the help they can get and a local childcare hub will save them hours of extra travelling a week.”
The school holidays in the region are due to end this Tuesday but exact details from the council remain thin on the ground.
The local authority was unable to say how many parents from the strath had been sending their children to Millburn Academy prior to the holidays or the local numbers who had applied for schooling before the cut-off date last month.
Neither could the council confirm how many schools had been in operation across the Highlands for pupils of key workers before the break.
It is understood the new local arrangement will depend on getting sufficient numbers of volunteers and senior staff to run the facility safely.
One parent, who did not wish to be named, said prior to this latest development: “Millburn Academy is too far away to be conducive for any childcare support. I suspect most essential key workers and parents in Badenoch and Strathspey will feel the same."