All schools and nurseries in Scotland should close next week for the Queen's funeral, the Scottish Government has advised.
The late monarch's funeral was confirmed as a bank holiday in the UK after King Charles approved the order during his proclamation ceremony at St James's Palace on Saturday morning.
Today, the Scottish Government advised that all councils shut schools and nurses on the bank holiday as a mark of respect for her Majesty, who died on Thursday at the age of 96.
A spokesperson confirmed to the Record that the country’s 32 councils that schools, and all other education settings that would normally be closed on a bank holiday, have been told to down tools in tribute.
A statement read: “The Scottish Government has advised local authorities that schools across Scotland should close on [that day or 19 September] as a mark of respect.
“This advice also applies to other education settings that would normally be closed on a bank holiday.”
During the rest of the national mourning period, schools have been advised to continue to remain open as normal with the usual expectations in place regarding attendance.
All local authority nurseries will be closing but private and voluntary nurseries have been left to their own devices, with some closing and others planning to continue operating.
It had already been announced that schools and nurseries across Glasgow will be closed on Monday while the council continues to provide other “essential services, keeping our city mobile, clean and safe”.
All West Lothian, South Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire schools and early learning and childcare settings also announced closures.
East Lothian, Midlothian and South Ayrshire all have their September weekend between those two dates, while schools in North Ayrshire were already closed for an in-service day on Monday.
Businesses and employers have also started announcing their plans ahead of the Queen's funeral bank holiday next week.
The full slate of closures will be confirmed in due course, but supermarket firms including Waitrose, Morrisons and Tesco are among those expected to shut up shop.
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