51����

Both Scotland’s��first minister and her deputy have been quizzed today about the Scottish government’s plans for reopening schools, following reports that��teachers could return to school next month, with pupils starting back on 11 August.

This morning that the Education Recovery Group (ERG) - the body set up to plan for the safe return of school staff and pupils - was working towards schools going back on 11 August and staff returning in June, to prepare for a new system of “blended learning”, with children spending half their school time in class and half at home.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon was asked if the report was accurate during her daily coronavirus briefing this afternoon. She confirmed that the return of staff in June and pupils on 11 August was “the kind of thing that has been discussed”.

Background:��Details on reopening Scottish schools expected in days

Coronavirus:��Call for clarity over reopening of Scottish schools

News:��Encourage vulnerable pupils to attend hubs, say MSPs

Meanwhile, in the Scottish Parliament��later in the afternoon,��deputy first minister and education secretary��John Swinney��was asked to shed more light on the plans and��to outline who had been consulted. Mr Swinney did not dismiss the report as inaccurate, but neither did he reveal more detail.

Coronavirus: When will schools in Scotland reopen?

His message was that the Scottish government’s plans would be revealed on Thursday,��echoing the position taken by Ms Sturgeon during her daily briefing.

Ms Sturgeon said: “These are the kind of things that are discussed through the Education Recovery Group [and] when I publish the route map on Thursday, we will give an up-to-date view of the phasing of a return to school. But in broad terms, what you’ve alluded to there is the kind of thing that has been discussed - but we haven’t made a final decision on that.

“In summary, we want to see children back in school as quickly as possible. Many of the impacts of dealing with this virus worry me profoundly, but the loss of education, or the impact on children’s education, is something that I know worries parents and worries me - worries all of us - so we want to get children back to school as quickly as possible. We have to do that in a way that’s safe, and that has the confidence both of parents and of teachers, and that’s why we’re considering these things so carefully through that Education Recovery Group.

“But we’ll set out the up-to-date position when we publish the document on Thursday.”