Scotland pupils to return to school today for the first time since quarantine

They hope to open all schools by next week.

Just a couple of weeks shy of the intended reopening of Irish schools, Scottish children returned to school today for the first time in five months. Similar to Ireland, Scotland went into lockdown earlier this year with one of the first steps being the closure of schools. Now things in Scotland are slowly getting back to normality but that doesn't mean that the schools will run as they did before as safety measures have been put in place to protect students and staff. While physical distancing among students will not generally be required, staff should remain 2m apart from students or other adults. This is quite different from the pod system planned for Irish schools that will require children to stay within certain groups to prevent any potential spreading of COVID. Hygiene and safety measures such as one-way systems have been put in place for schools across Scotland which hope to fully open by August 18. According to BBC at her coronavirus briefing on Monday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said;

"The importance of getting young people back into education can't be overstated. Schools have worked really hard to support pupils through lockdown but we know the impact on education, on wellbeing, on happiness has been negative for young people so to get them back into full-time education has to be a priority."

As things stand schools in Ireland plan to reopen by the end of the month.