ISC Daily News Summary

First minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that children in P1 to P3, those at pre-school and some senior pupils will be allowed to return to Scotland's classrooms from Monday 22 February. She added that pupils in other year groups are unlikely to return to school before 15 March at the earliest. BBC News.

Ms Sturgeon has warned parents against using the limited reopening of schools as an opportunity to socialise, saying: "If the return to school leads to more contacts between adults over the next few weeks, transmission of the virus will quickly rise again." By Mark McLaughlin, The Times.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have suggested that reopening all schools across the UK could push the infection rate above one. Tes.

According to Tes, schools have been left to cover £42 million of extra costs related to the pandemic, after their requests for financial help were denied by the Government. By Charlotte Santry.

In a final speech after six years in the role, Anne Longfield, the children's commissioner for England, is expected to urge the Government to put children at the heart of plans to "build back better" after the pandemic. BBC News.

The latest figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show that 24 per cent of primary pupils were in school last week. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

According to The Times, children could be allowed to participate in team sports from the end of next month as part of the easing of lockdown restrictions. By Steven Swinford.

Figures published yesterday show the DfE has dispatched over one million laptops and tablets to support disadvantaged pupils with their online learning, with around 250,000 devices yet to be delivered. By James Carr, Schools Week.

An article in The Telegraph considers the future of childcare providers post-COVID. By Anna White.

According to Tes, this year's GCSE and A-level grades could be based on exam paper questions used in previous years. By Catherine Lough.

The European Commission has ruled that Scottish students cannot continue to take part in the Erasmus exchange programme, following the UK's decision to withdraw from the scheme after Brexit. By Kieran Andrews, The Times.