Scotland’s first minister has announced that masks will no longer be required in secondary classrooms from March - but they should still be worn in corridors and communal spaces.

Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement just before First Minister’s Questions this afternoon.

Ms Sturgeon said the decision followed a meeting on Tuesday of the Advisory Subgroup on Education and Children’s Issues. She said the group had advised face coverings in classrooms could be removed following the February break and that restrictions on school assemblies and transition visits for learners who will start primary or secondary in August will also be eased as of 28 February.

On the changes to the rules on face masks, she said: “The sub-group has advised that this change should apply to both pupils and staff in classrooms and take effect from 28 February when all schools will have returned from the half term break.

“This change will reduce barriers to communication in the classroom and reduce any wellbeing impact which arise from the use of face coverings, for example, through their use in support learning and teaching. Of course - and this is a point I want to stress - any young person or staff member who wishes to still wear a face covering in the classroom should be fully supported in doing so.

“We currently expect that face coverings will still be required outside the classroom in indoor communal areas in schools for a period after 28 February but this will be kept under regular review.”

Ms Sturgeon added that in arriving at their decision the sub-group pointed to “reducing case rates for secondary-aged pupils, falling hospitalisation rates across all age categories, and the fact that the estimated R rate is below 1 and decreasing”.

In addition, she said, vaccination rates for young people continued to increase.

She concluded: “This change represents a further step in allowing our children and young people to return to a more normal school experience after many months of sacrifice.”

Scotland’s largest teaching union has previously said that students and staff should continue to wear face masks in the classroom until towards the end of March 

Responding to today’s announcement, Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS teaching union, said that the union would have ”preferred the end of March rather than the end of February for this change to happen”.

He added: “Having said that, it is important that both pupils and staff have the right to continue to wear face coverings if they wish and, in some cases, where there is a heightened vulnerability in play, face coverings may still be required.

“There has been a slight drop in infection levels within schools but they remain high - over 4,000 staff are off school for Covid related reasons and more than 20,000 pupils.

“Enforcing the remaining mitigations, therefore, around ventilation and face coverings in communal areas, remains critical to school safety.”

The Scottish government said its guidance for schools would be updated next week.

Last month the UK government announced that masks would no longer be required in classrooms in England.