On Thursday last week, I made a detailed statement to Parliament in which I outlined the progress that we have made towards fully reopening schools in August, and I set out how we are working with partners to address the wider impacts of the virus on the health and wellbeing, educational progress and attainment of our children and young people. It is a moral and educational imperative that we support our children and young people to get back to school as soon as we know that it is safe for them to do so.
The education recovery group, which I chair with Councillor McCabe, draws together the Scottish Government, our partners in local government, professional associations, education advisers and representatives of parents to prepare our education system to recover from the disruption of Covid. As part of that work, the group has received scientific advice from the Covid-19 advisory sub-group on education and children’s issues. The education recovery group has taken that advice into consideration and, last Friday, finalised guidance to provide for the safe reopening of primary and secondary schools on a full-time basis for all pupils.
The guidance clearly sets out the approach that must be taken, including a number of specific risk-mitigation measures that will need to be introduced in all educational settings in order that they provide a safe environment for staff and pupils. As part of our statutory three-weekly review process, a final decision on reopening schools will be taken by the Scottish Government Cabinet on Wednesday, and that will be set out to Parliament by the First Minister on Thursday. That decision will be based on whether prevalence of Covid within our community is at a sufficiently low level to enable schools to fully reopen. Given the development of the guidance that has taken place, a decision that we will reopen schools is the more likely.
Throughout the crisis, there has been an important focus on supporting children and young people who rely on schools, early learning and childcare because those places offer safety and stability that they would otherwise lack. That is why learning hubs for vulnerable children and key workers have remained open over the summer and why, as we plan for safe reopening of schools, meeting the learning needs of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds continues to be a priority.
That is also why I reiterate my commitments to taking stock of the impact of Covid-19 on equity and to closing the attainment gap. Our shared vision for education in Scotland remains—that we achieve excellence and equity for all children. Our partners in local government are as committed as we are to getting our children back to school. Having witnessed closely the endeavours of colleagues across the sector in recent months, I am confident that we will, if we continue to work together, be in the best position to support our children and young people to return safely to education and to achieve that aim. I look forward to discussing the issues with the committee this afternoon.