Covid: Youngest pupils to return to classrooms in Scotland

The youngest pupils are to return to Scotland's classrooms for face-to-face teaching from next week.

The move will see all children in P1 to P3 and those at pre-school returning from Monday 22 February.

Other age groups will continue to learn from home, apart from some secondary pupils who need to complete coursework.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was unlikely that any other pupils would return to school before 15 March at the earliest.

All other existing lockdown measures will all remain in place until at least the end of this month, with Ms Sturgeon warning that the country remains in a precarious position.

The EIS teaching union said it still had significant concerns over school safety which had not yet been addressed, and that a blended learning model - with about half of pupils in classes at any one time - would have been more appropriate.

16 February 2021