National strike action affecting schools

West Lothian Council has been notified that national strike action by teaching unions is taking place in West Lothian on Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 March.

This will result in a significant reduction in staffing levels within schools.

All West Lothian schools (primary, secondary and ASN) are expected to close to all pupils on Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 March.

All West Lothian council nurseries and early learning centres will be open to all children, as normal.

National negotiations are still ongoing, and if they are able to reach an agreement, it is possible that strike action could be called off. In this event, we will notify you as soon as possible via Groupcall, with updates on the council's website and social media.

If the planned strike action goes ahead, the following arrangements will also be in place:

• Pupils will still be able to access previous learning materials online, through SeeSaw (P1-3) or Microsoft Teams (P4-S6), to study/consolidate prior learning.
• A £6 per pupil payment will be made to pupils affected by the strike who are in P1 to P5 who received a School Clothing Grant or children in P6 and above if the child is in receipt of Free School Meals due to low income. This should be in bank accounts no later than 4 working days from the date of the strike action
• Packed lunches will be available to collect from any West Lothian school between 11am and 12.30pm for any pupils affected by the strike action who require access to food on the day that their school is closed.

I appreciate that further industrial action will cause significant disruption to the learning of our children and young people, and many of you will now need to have alternative arrangements in place for this date.

Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Elaine Cook

Depute Chief Executive