Education secretary and deputy first minister John Swinney has just announced new “guidance on schools reopening”.

The guidance restates some previously announced measures but also contains new developments to apply from 15 March.

Schools reopening: New Covid guidance

Here are some of the key points:

• All children in primary schools to return to school full-time.
• In secondary schools there will be a combination of in-school learning and remote learning for all S1-S6 students; the 8 per cent cap on numbers in secondary schools has been removed.
• Work is being done to provide secondary schools with additional test kits to allow them to extend the offer of twice-weekly at-home lateral flow testing to all secondary students after the Easter break.
• Face coverings are now to be worn throughout the day by all secondary-aged students (not just S4-6 students, as previously)
• Two-metre social distancing required in school buildings, but one metre on school transport.

BREAKING: Coronavirus test kits are to be made available to all secondary school pupils, including S1-S3.

DFM @JohnSwinney says this is to start after the Easter break.

Live updates ➡https://t.co/C4CPQCe8uo pic.twitter.com/rpyeZIVSP4

- BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) March 8, 2021

Mr Swinney said: “I can confirm that when children return from their Easter breaks, we will provide secondary schools with additional test kits.

“This will allow schools to offer twice-weekly lateral-flow home-testing kits for all secondary school pupils.”

He also said that the next stage of the return to school buildings would go ahead as planned on Monday, 15 March, “unless there is some data that emerges that causes us to have pause for thought”. He added: “At this stage, it doesn’t appear that that is the case.”

Mr Swinney also said he was “confident” that the return of younger pupils to Scotland’s primary schools has not resulted in an increase in coronavirus cases.

He said that infection levels had continued to fall, despite children in nurseries and P1-3 returning to school buildings on 22 February, a move that came two weeks ahead of pupils in England.

“As we look at the data just now, with P1 to P3 and early learning having been back since February 22, we can see that there doesn’t appear to be, on the face of it, any damaging effect on the reduction of the prevalence of the virus,” he said.

Mr Swinney added: “We’re obviously seeing continued falls in the number of cases, despite the fact that early learning and childcare and P1 to P3 have been back.

“So I think, on data, we can be confident that that move has not resulted in any negative impact on virus prevalence.”