I am a secondary school teacher in Scotland and I have been reading a lot about how much parents and teachers want the schools to reopen and the government suggesting that young people are less likely to be affected by the Covid-19 virus.

The education secretary John Swinney also thinks that it’s ok to do away with social distancing in August and have a full return. However, there has been very little mention of staff protection, and certainly no mention of it for those who - while perhaps not shielding - are in high risk and vulnerable groups.

A full return with no social distancing means that staff are put at risk.

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While young people may be less at risk, there are no guarantees; they could also be carriers of the virus without being affected themselves.

Although I am not shielding (as I was never sent a letter), I am in the vulnerable group having COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], and a heart problem, but will be expected to return to the school building in August, with the pupils back full time with no social distancing. I also teach a practical subject which does involve being close to pupils when demonstrating, and helping them.

Just before lockdown, some pupils were deliberately coughing in my class, two said they genuinely had a cough, but parents had sent them to school anyway. At no point were we given any advice about what to do if pupils started coughing in class. Nor was I informed that, as I have underlying health conditions, I could have done my own risk assessment and not had any contact with the pupils in class if I felt at risk.

Five days later, I developed the high temperature and other symptoms. I was never tested for Covid-19, as testing was occurring only if you ended up in hospital.

It has now been over 100 days since I first got a high temperature and other symptoms, but I am still feeling ongoing symptoms such as fatigue, chest pain, skin soreness and tightness on breathing.

I also have palpitations that come and go, which make me feel shorter of breath. I get so dizzy that I would fall over if I wasn’t already sitting down.

These pupils obviously thought it was funny to deliberately cough in class, so who is to say that they won’t do it again when schools reopen?

Despite feeling unwell, I continued to set and mark work for my classes through Google Classroom, attended Skype meetings and planned my lessons for the return in August.

I do want to return to school; it is very difficult to teach a practical subject remotely.

However, I am concerned and anxious about the risks of a full return with no, or very little, social distancing. Also, with these ongoing symptoms, I worry about whether I will feel well enough to stand in the classroom for the whole day and whether I will manage to speak to the pupils without getting palpitations and feeling out of breath.

There are many questions that have crossed my mind, and no doubt, other people’s minds too:

• What protection will there be in schools for staff, who are not shielding but are in the high-risk group due to underlying health conditions?
• Should staff who are not shielding but are in the high-risk group due to underlying health conditions continue to work from home, rather than physically being in the building?
• Can protection be guaranteed?
• What happens if an individual school does not put protection in place?
• There has been mention of staff wearing face masks; what if you can’t wear one because it causes difficulty with breathing?
• Will there be testing for staff - both testing for the virus, and antibody testing?
• When a vaccine becomes available, will it be offered to teachers and other school staff, as well as those in the care sector?

All of these questions and more, need to be addressed to ensure it is safe for everyone to return to school in August.

The author is a home economics teacher based in Scotland; she does not wish to be named