Nicola Sturgeon lays out plans for reopening Scottish schools

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Presently, schools are closed to pupils except for vulnerable students and the children of key workers. After several weeks of school closures, many parents are wondering when their children will finally be allowed to return to school. Read on to find out when schools are planned to reopen in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2021.

Scotland

Today (Tuesday, February 16), Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed school pupils in Scotland will soon be allowed to return to in-person learning.

From next Monday some pupils will be allowed to start returning to school, however, the other lockdown restrictions active in Scotland will remain in place until at least the beginning of March.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs in the Scottish Parliament: “We are choosing to use the very limited headroom we have right now to get at least some children back to school – because children’s education and wellbeing is such a priority.

“But being able to get children back to education may mean the rest of us living with some other restrictions for longer.

“That is a trade-off we need to be willing to make.”

Pupils in primary one to primary three will return to school along with all children under school age in early learning and childcare.

Schools will also be open again for senior secondary school pupils who are required to complete practical work towards achieving a qualification.

The senior pupils will be required to socially distance while in school and while on school transport, while no other pupils will be allowed to return to school before March 15.

Wales

The Welsh Education Minister announced on February 5 that schools will start to reopen for foundation phase learners (children aged three to seven) from February 22.

The Welsh Government’s coronavirus guidance for schools explained: “The latest TAG briefing sets out clearly the position across Wales in relation to COVID-19 and the steady positive decline in almost all the indicators.

“This evidence suggests that there is sufficient headroom to enable the return of our youngest learners to schools.”

The next review of lockdown measures on February 19 may see more age groups phased back into schools in Wales over the coming weeks.

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Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Executive has not yet decided whether some or all pupils can return to school from March.

It has been announced that pre-school, primary and post-primary schools will provide remote learning until at least March 5.

Children of key workers and vulnerable pupils can still attend school, while special schools can also stay open.

First Minister Arlene Foster said she recognised it would come as a “disappointment” for many parents and pupils that schools will not open in the near future.

She added: “The kitchen table is no substitute for the school desk.

“It is also important though that we give people a clear view of what is happening so we thought it was important to indicate today that we would not be back before March 5 in schools.”

England

Earlier this year, Boris Johnson said he hoped schools would be able to start reopening in England from March 8.

Whether or not this is the case will be dependent on Covid cases and other factors, Mr Johnson said.

The Prime Minister is expected to confirm when schools will return in his ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown announcement on February 22.

Consistently during the third lockdown, ministers have emphasised returning pupils to education is a priority for the Government.

Mr Johnson said schools reopening would be “the first sign of normality”, so it is likely to be one of the first lockdown measures eased over the coming months in England.

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