A Perthshire school has noticed another consequence of pupils learning from home during lockdown - slouching.
Staff at Kilgraston are now keen help keep the children’s posture perfect to stop them suffering issues later in life.
Dorothy MacGinty, head teacher of Kilgraston School, said: “Since returning a couple of weeks ago, several teachers began to notice a common theme of slouching.”
It soon became evident that months of home-schooling, crouching over a laptop, hasn’t done anything for pupil posture, with several commenting on sore backs and necks.
Pupils throughout the school’s junior and senior years are now being asked to carry out shoulder-rolls and stretches before each class with time spent in PE also concentrating on personal posture and year-group bubbles thinking about their stance and the body as a whole.
Ms MacGinty added: “Of course, because of social distancing, staffroom and dining room chat is severely curtailed, it took a few days before we realised that this was a common theme.
“Since restrictions were eased, there has, quite rightly, been a great deal of national discussion about lockdown lethargy, mental health issues, putting on weight and children struggling with speech and language skills, however, none of us were prepared for, or expected, a bearing on personal carriage.
“We’re not quite ‘Miss Jean Brodie’, but we are asking them to sit-up a bit straighter for their own long-term benefit.”
