Edinburgh education chiefs welcome phased return of pupils

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs at Holyrood that it had been decided some children will be allowed to return to classrooms across Scotland later this month.

Edinburgh City Council’s Children and Families Convener, councillor Ian Perry said: “I know many families across the city will be pleased to hear that a phased return to schooling will be in place by the end of the month. Our teaching staff are doing a tremendous amount of great work with home learning but we all know there’s no better place for our children than being back in school with their peers and learning face to face.

“Our schools will now work really hard to put plans in place so P1 to P3 pupils and some senior phase pupils can return on February 22 which will hopefully be confirmed by the Scottish Government in two weeks time. In the meantime home learning will continue and we hope to be to welcome more pupils back to school in the coming months as long as the virus continues to be suppressed.”

Vice-convener, councillor Alison Dickie added: “These are extremely challenging times for families and no one can underestimate the impact the pandemic has had especially for those struggling at home. Everyone’s mental health and wellbeing is really important so it’s welcome that early years, childcare and P1 to P3 pupils will be back in school where they belong in a few weeks time.

“Supporting the children who need it most is vital and I’m glad they will continue to attend their schools as we all work together to get through this. With the number of positive cases coming down in Edinburgh and the rollout of the vaccination programme we hope even more pupils will be able to come back to school when it is safe to do so. We will continue to follow the latest Scottish Government and health advice in ensuring our schools continue to be safe learning and teaching environments for all our young people and teaching staff.”

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