A WEST FIFE mum has called for workers at special education schools to be put to the top of the coronavirus vaccination list.

The woman – who has a daughter who attends Calaiswood School as well as another daughter who is a pupil support worker at the facility in Duloch – believes staff should be classed in the same bracket as care home workers.

She said she believes they have been "forgotten" and has called on the Government to give them the support she says is deserved.

"They are so dedicated – it is not just like a school," she told the Press. "They have such a caring role. A lot of them are doing nursing care and are very hand-on. Pupils at Calaiswood won't and cannot wear masks and there is no social-distancing with feeding and changing.

"Care home workers are getting immunised. What is the difference? The most vulnerable young people in society are in that school and the people who have been told, 'You are going back to work', have been offered no protection."

Discovering that her younger daughter would be able to return to school was welcome news for the woman, who did not want to be named, but, she admits, that it brought "mixed emotions."

She explained: "The first lockdown was just horrendous for my daughter's mental health. Like the majority of special needs children, she struggles to cope with change in routine. Obviously, absolutely everything had changed.

"I was massively relieved when I knew the school was going to be opening up again but then there was worry for my eldest daughter, who works in the school. She, along with the majority of the staff at the school, have their own families.

"As a parent, I am sending my daughter in to school knowing the school do anything in their power to keep her safe. It is outwith anybody's control but surely they should try and make sure the people who are looking after my daughter are safe.

"If there was a pupil in the school who was particularly violent, they would safeguard the member of staff with training of how to deal with that but they are not safeguarding the staff here.

"People outwith special education need to know they have been forgotten. They do a wonderful job and they should be higher on the list of being immunised and protected."

The Scottish Government's vaccination programme began in December and will work through the priority list as set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Professor Wei Shen Lim, COVID-19 chair for the JCVI, said their advice on vaccine prioritisation was developed with the aim of preventing as many deaths as possible.

"As the single greatest risk of death from COVID-19 is older age, prioritisation is primarily based on age," he stated.

“It is estimated that vaccinating everyone in the priority groups would prevent 99 per cent of deaths, including those associated with occupational exposure to infection.”