First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she hopes for Scottish schools to return to "nearer normality" when they go back in August, depending on how successful efforts to suppress the pandemic have been.
Her comments come after Scottish Government coronavirus adviser Professor Devi Sridhar tweeted that her "personal view" is that if cases of coronavirus are low enough, schools should "reopen as normally as possible" when they return on August 11.
The Edinburgh University professor, who is part of the Scottish Government's Covid-19 expert scientific advisory group claimed full-time education should happen if Scotland keeps making progress in eliminating the virus.
Sturgeon responded to the comments by tweeting this morning: "Right now (like other UK nations), we must plan for a school model based on physical distancing. But as @devisridhar says, *if* we can suppress virus sufficiently & have other measures in place, nearer normality may be possible. It’s why we must stick with plan to suppress
"We’ll be guided by evidence & won’t compromise safety (we still don’t know everything about this virus). And we’ll work with parents, young people & teachers to build confidence. All countries grappling with these tough issues -Scottish Government is determined to do right for children."
On Sunday, Education Secretary John Swinney had warned it was "unlikely" that education would return to normal in the next academic year - prompting dismay from parents.
He said that was because "we'll have to maintain the social distancing approaches for some considerable time to come".
Plans being drawn up by councils could see some youngsters spend as little as one day a week in class, it has been reported.
However, on Monday, the First Minister dismissed his suggestion that the blended learning system - where youngsters spend part of the week in class but continue learning at home - could last for the whole of the 2020-21 school year.
She said: "It is absolutely not the case that we are planning for blended learning, with children learning at home for part of the school week, to last a year, or anything like it."
