Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, in an address to the nation, has told that teachers and parents that they must have “clarity” and “confidence that it is safe” before pupils return to school.
She also praised schoolchildren for handling the demands of the coronavirus pandemic “brilliantly”.
Ms Sturgeon made her comments on a day when teaching unions accused the Westminster government of rushing the process in England, after indicating that all primary school children could return to school before the summer.
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Addressing the nation last night, Ms Sturgeon repeated the message that, apart from allowing people to take more exercise outdoors, “we are asking you to stick with lockdown for a bit longer - so that we can consolidate our progress, not jeopardise it”.
She said that, among the various preparations for eventually easing the lockdown, “we are talking to teachers and parents about how and when schools can safely return”.
The first minister added: “We are doing all of that carefully because it is vital that when we do ask you to return to work or to school, you have clarity about what we are asking you to do and also confidence that it is safe.”
She said: “I want to make sure that as we take each step on the path to recovery, the ground beneath us is as solid as possible. But I will not keep these restrictions in place longer than necessary.”
Ms Sturgeon added: “I also want to say a special thank-you to children. Not being at school, or seeing your friends, or hugging your grandparents is really tough.
“But you have handled it brilliantly. I’m so proud of all of you.
“For all of us, I know it’s getting harder but let’s keep supporting each other even as we stay apart.”
Meanwhile, some insight into the process of deciding when to reopen schools in Scotland is revealed in minutes published today, from the 7 May meeting of the Scottish government’s Covid-19 advisory group.
They state: “The group discussed data on the impact of children returning to schools and drew on existing evidence from other European countries where schools have reopened. The discussion included modelling work being undertaken to identify the impact of reopening schools on R [value], acknowledging that models may include other factors such as parents returning to work.”
