TEACHERS in Fife have voted "overwhelmingly" in favour of a formal dispute with Fife Council after calls for an extension of the Christmas break were rejected.

The Fife branch of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union balloted members on Friday with the outcome revealed on Tuesday evening.

A total of 53 per cent of Fife EIS members took part with 90 per cent voting in favour of the dispute.

Fife EIS had called for the Kingdom’s schools to close on Friday this week with re-opening delayed until January 11.

Their proposal would see a move to remote learning on December 21 and 22 in the interests of minimising infection risk and protecting the health and wellbeing of students, teachers and families over the festive season. The holiday extension would also minimise disruption for senior staff to be involved in contact tracing – with fears many would be tasked with carrying this out on Christmas Day.

But it was rejected by the council and an extension of the Christmas break was ruled out by the Scottish Government.

A spokesperson for EIS Fife told the Press: "EIS members in Fife have clearly shown their commitment to declaring a dispute with Fife Council.

"In our recent consultative ballot, 90 per cent voted in favour of declaring a dispute.

"In the ballot, which ran for only four short days, 53 per cent of EIS members across all sectors voted. The result of that voting was an overwhelming 'Yes' vote.

"Fife EIS now need to frame the exact wording of our dispute with Fife Council.

"The executive of Fife EIS will meet tonight (Wednesday) to do just that and agree next steps.

"It is clear, however, that our members see the deployment of blended learning in schools around the school Christmas holiday as a paramount and pressing issue.

"That said, we cannot ignore the fact that our mightily-impressive ballot result comes at a time when hundreds of the children in our schools are self-isolating and positive cases continue to arise in our schools.

"Continuing issues with COVID-19 safety in schools and the anxieties around that have taken teachers to breaking point.

"EIS members in Fife support the continuation of education for our children but not at any price.

"We have stepped up to the plate, irrespective of risk, every school day since August.

"It’s time now for Fife Council to give something back."

The council is adhering to Scottish Government public health advice, which says keeping schools open carries a minimal risk of transmission.

Carrie Lindsay, executive director of education and children’s services, said the council was "disappointed" with the result of the Fife EIS ballot.

She said: "The health and wellbeing of our workforce is extremely important.

"Throughout the pandemic response, the duty of care we have to the health, safety and wellbeing of all our employees has been at the forefront of the approach we have taken. The wellbeing of staff is central to decisions that we have made in Fife.

“As a local authority, we do not have the legal authority to close all schools or move all schools to remote learning in the current circumstances, according to our legal advice.

"If there is any change to national advice from either Scottish Government or Public Health Scotland, then, as always, we will take steps to make sure that we follow that guidance.

“We are understandably disappointed with this outcome as we are always available for discussion with our trade unions and pride ourselves with having positive working relationships with them.

"It would always be our preference to seek to resolve matters through local discussion and unfortunately this dispute has not been approached in this manner.”

The local authority says it is remaining resolute that children will continue going to school until December 23 with public health teams continuing the 'test and trace' process throughout the holidays to assist senior staff with contact tracing.

This was reiterated by the Scottish Government with a spokesperson stating: "We want teachers and school leaders to have a break over the festive period, and that’s why Public Health Scotland and the national contact tracing centre are offering support to local authorities to deal with contact tracing issues to minimise the need for school leaders to deal with them over the holidays.”

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley told the Press that he had heard from many teachers and parents who supported the EIS request.

He said: "The levels of pressure on pupils, teachers and other staff must be immense and I am calling on both Fife Council and the Education Secretary, John Swinney, to look at the situation in schools and re-evaluate their thinking."