Nicola Sturgeon has announced plans that would see primary school pupils back in the classroom by the end of next month.
The First Minister has set out Scotland's roadmap out of lockdown this afternoon at Holyrood, once again reiterating that education remains an "immediate priority"
The country's exit from lockdown will see a progressive easing of level four restrictions, which apply across most of the country, at intervals of at least three weeks.
"All of these things will of course depend on an assessment that is safe to proceed", Nicola Sturgeon has cautioned.
Outlining the phased return of pupils to Scottish classrooms, she said: "The first easing started yesterday, with the partial return of skills. In addition, universities and colleges are able to bring back a small number of students, no more than five per cent of the total where face-to-face teaching is critical."
In the next phase, all the remaining primary school pupils will return next month.
She continued: "The next phase of easing will be a minimum of three weeks later, so indicatively from March the 15th.
"We hope that this will include the next phase of school return, which will start with the rest of primary school years, four to seven, and also getting more senior secondary pupils back in the classroom for at least part of their learning.
"We also hope in this space to restart outdoors non contact group sports for 12 to 17 year olds. And we will also aim to increase the limit on outdoor mixing between households, for people from a maximum of two households, compared to people from two households to just now."
You can follow our live coverage of the briefing here.
