East Kilbride’s youngest school pupils are likely to return to the classroom full-time from February 22 as a phased return to reopening starts.
The move will include all pupils in P1-P3, as well as pre-school children.
There will also be a part-time return, but on a very limited basis, for senior secondary pupils to allow them to complete work for national qualifications.
A final decision will be taken on the partial reopening in a fortnight.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has extended the existing lockdown restrictions – due to run out in the middle of the month – for another fortnight.
It means pubs and restaurants will remain shut along with non-essential shops, while people can still only meet one other person from one other household.
Ms Sturgeon said the figures are still “too high”, although they showed “real progress” and that lockdown measures are working. If figures continue to fall, restrictions may begin being eased at the start of March, with an update on that possibility due in a fortnight.
In an update to Parliament, the First Minister confirmed that a managed quarantine system for anyone who arrives directly into Scotland regardless of which country they have come from will be introduced as soon as practicably possible.
In addition to guarding against the increased importation of new cases, access to testing to find cases and interrupt transmission already taking place in Scotland will be stepped up.
This will include the routine testing of healthcare workers which will be expanded to cover patient-facing primary care workers such as GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists, as will testing for all patient-facing staff who work in hospices.
From later this month, regular testing will be offered to support the return to schools and nurseries.
Senior phase secondary school students, and all staff in primary, secondary and special schools, including school-based ELC staff, will be able to benefit from routine at-home testing two times a week.
The First Minister said: “As levels of the virus continue to fall in Scotland, it becomes ever more important that we stop the virus from being imported again. The threat of new variants is real and we must be ever-more vigilant.
“That is why we intend to introduce a managed quarantine requirement for anyone who arrives directly into Scotland, regardless of which country they have come from.
“If we all agree to abide with the lockdown restrictions for a bit longer so that our progress in suppressing the virus continues, we can begin a phased, albeit gradual, return to school from February 22.”
But the news that school kids could return garnered a variety of opinions from local parents who shared their views with the News.
One concerned mum, who wishes to remain anonymous as she is in the shielding category, told the News her son attends a secondary school in the area and fears that primary school kids are being given priority over older pupils.
She added: “Of course all kids are missing out on vital education and socialisation, but the Scottish Government has this round the wrong way.
“Taking primary school kids back first only makes life easier for parents working at home as they don’t need to juggle childcare.
“But primary kids don’t social distance and they aren’t at a crucial stage in their lives with exams that determine uni placements and job prospects.
“Third to sixth year secondary pupils should return first and then it should be a gradual phase return working down the school year groups.”
Mark Steele, from Whitehills, originally thought it would be best to scrap the school year and have kids repeat the year again in August.
But Mark, who’s wife is a primary teacher in Glasgow, has had second thoughts.
He told us: “Initially, the kids went back too early and they were kept in too long when pretty much everything else was closed.
“I thought that the solution would be the write-off this year and have all kids repeat the academic year as too much class time has been lost.
“Home-schooling is totally dependant on the parents making the time and effort to have their children do it, and with families working from home I think it’s fair to say that some children are at a disadvantage compared to others.
“But the problem with having kids repeat a school year is, it causes a whole host of impacts further down the line.
“One problem being is that when does the intake for the new kids start, for the kids who are supposed to join nursery and primary one, it’s just delaying vital processes and developments and where do you draw the line.
“As for secondary kids, especially the older ones, it means they have double the amount of time to prepare for exams and that obliviously causes the SQA problems, and after the exam result scandal last year, I’m not sure they can handle any more major changes.”
