ANGRY parents in Dumbarton and the Vale have urged a U-turn from Nicola Sturgeon to allow them to attend their children’s nursery graduation ceremonies.

The ceremonies, which begin this week, are going ahead, but the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 rules state parents cannot attend the events – even if they are held outside and with social distancing in place.

The calls come after the government gave the approval for 6,000 football fans a day to attend the UEFA Fan Zone in Glasgow as part of the Euro 2020 championships.

And the parents’ pleas have been backed by Dumbarton’s MSP, Jackie Baillie, who has urged the First Minister to change the guidelines when she makes her latest statement on Covid in the Scottish Parliament today (Tuesday).

Dumbarton resident Maria Scally said: “Football fan zones are going ahead in Glasgow which is currently in Level 2, yet we are in Level 1 and aren’t allowed to gather in our small groups socially distancing to celebrate our children’s big milestone in education, and to celebrate all they have achieved despite the fact it’s been an extremely difficult time for them over the last 16 months.

“We are worried that school term is running out and this will be another thing the young kids will miss out on as well as the parents.

“We will never get that day back for our child to graduate from nursery.”

Emma Gildea, whose daughter Remy is due to graduate this week, added: “As a parent I have missed sports days and nativity plays and we accepted that.

“So when we were invited to this graduation it was going to mean so much to Remy - it was a little bit of hope for us all.

“Her nursery worked so hard to arrange a Covid secure ceremony, with just 12 parents in a garden at a time.

“But that hope was completely shattered with the announcement that it would not be allowed to go ahead.”

Jackie Baillie MSP said: “These rules rely on public confidence to work but these apparent inconsistencies make it more difficult for people to understand why they are being asked not to do certain things.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We know these ceremonies are important to many parents and carers.

"However, our Covid-19 safety guidance seeks to minimise the number of contacts that children and staff have in early learning centre (ELC) settings by, for example, limiting adult visitors to those that are strictly necessary.

It’s important that we keep these settings as safe as possible so that they can remain open and to reduce the need for staff and children to stay home and self-isolate.

“We also need to protect the staff who work there and have supported families and children throughout the pandemic.

“We are consulting with the advisory sub-group on this issue and will provide an update if the advice changes.”