Many pupils will start returning to school buildings in six days, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The return date of Monday 22 February will go ahead as planned, with pupils in the first three years of primary school heading back.
Return to school plans
All children under school age in early learning and childcare will also return, while some senior secondary students will be able to return for essential work in practical subjects.
However, other pupils are unlikely to return before Monday 15 March, Ms Sturgeon said. Another review of the situation is due two weeks from now.
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The first minister said: “I want to be clear, though, that the need to properly assess the impact of this limited reopening means we think it unlikely, at this stage, that there will be any further return to school before 15 March.
“As we consider these issues, we are of course doing everything we can to ensure that schools are as safe as possible for children, and for the education workforce.”
BREAKING - Youngest pupils to return to classrooms as planned.
No other changes to Scotland’s lockdown restrictions until at least the beginning of March.
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- BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) February 16, 2021
The Scottish government has today published guidance on the phased return of many pupils, who will join the vulnerable pupils and children of key workers already attending school during the current lockdown.
Senior secondary pupils, teachers and school staff will be given lateral flow testing twice a week from next week. Senior pupils will be required to socially distance while in school and on school transport.
Still staying at home
Despite many pupils returning to schools, the stay-at-home lockdown order will continue until at least the beginning of March and possibly longer, Ms Sturgeon told MSPs.
The first minister said it was “hard to overstate” the need for the easing of lockdown restrictions to be “careful, cautious and gradual”.
She told the Scottish Parliament that lockdown “has been working” in terms of slowing down of the virus.
She also said, however, that the situation is still very fragile, and “even a slight easing of restrictions could cause cases to start rising rapidly again”.
“We are choosing to use the very limited headroom we have right now to get at least some children back to school - because children’s education and wellbeing is such a priority,” she said.
“But being able to get children back to education may mean the rest of us living with some other restrictions for longer.
“That is a trade-off we need to be willing to make.”
The second phase for the return to Scottish schools may be announced in two weeks.
FM @NicolaSturgeon says lateral flow tests are to be made available to senior pupils and school staff.
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- BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) February 16, 2021
Ms Sturgeon urged parents not to socialise at school gates, underlining that the phased return to school buildings must only be treated as “a return to education for children only, and not as a return to greater normality for the rest of us”.
She said: “If we all do that, then I am hopeful that this return to school will be consistent with our continued progress in suppressing the virus.
“And if that does prove to be the case, I am optimistic that we will soon be able to set out the next phase in the journey back to school for young people.”
The Scottish government hopes to produce a new road map out of lockdown next week, Ms Sturgeon said.
She added that it would likely advise people in Scotland not to book Easter holidays, but added that “staycations” during the summer may be allowed, depending on the Covid data.
‘Teachers will be nervous’
After the first minister’s statement, EIS union general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “Everyone is supportive of face-to-face teaching returning as soon as possible - that should not override safety concerns, however, and teachers will be understandably nervous around today’s announcement.
“Community infection levels have fallen but still remain high in areas such as North Lanarkshire and at 6 per cent the test positivity rate in Scotland remains above the level that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends as indicative of the virus being under control.
“Against this backdrop, the EIS continues to believe that a blended-learning model, with around half of pupils in classes at any one time to allow for physical distancing, would have provided a more cautious and more appropriate basis for pupils returning to schools.
Mr Flanagan added: “Teachers remain concerned about the increased transmissibility of new Covid variants of the virus, especially aerosol transmission, and it is disappointing that the Scottish government has not supported the introduction of medical grade face masks for staff, as they offer greater protection for wearers than simple face coverings.
“It should reconsider its stance as a matter of urgency. We would also expect that staff with increased vulnerabilities will be advised to continue to work from home during this first phase.
“The introduction of twice-weekly testing for staff and senior pupils is welcome, as is the requirement for senior pupils to physically distance. Looking forward, however, to any fuller return of pupils it is clear that the prioritisation of teachers and other school staff for vaccination remains a straightforward way to ensure in-school safety. If having schools open is a priority for the Scottish government, then protecting school staff should also be a priority.”
