Nicola Sturgeon schools reopening announcement: This is what the First Minister is expected to announce today and here's where you can watch

Nicola Sturgeon is due to address parliament this afternoon and will announce whether the phased reopening of schools will go ahead on February 22 as previously announced.

Earlier this month it was announced that schools would remain closed until at least February 22 but that this decision was subject to review prior to the reopening.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly said that its main priority is to keep schools open wherever possible due to the negative impact the closure has on children and young people.

The First Minister will make her announcement as part of her wider Covid-19 update to Holyrood on Tuesday, February 16.

Nicola Sturgeon is due to address parliament at around 2pm on Tuesday.

What is Nicola Sturgeon expected to announce?

The First Minister has not given any solid indication as to whether she will announce a further extension to the closure of schools but in her daily coronavirus briefing on Monday she said that is is “very, very keen” to get children back in the classroom as soon as possible.

She added that the Cabinet will be considering if it is possible at this stage to potentially suggest “an indicative timetable for the next groups of pupils that are perhaps likely to return to school”.

If she does announce that schools will begin the phased return next Monday, February 22, she will specify exactly what groups are included in the initial returns, having previously stated that primary’s one, two and three would be included, as well as older secondary school pupils.

This is when Nicola Sturgeon be addressing Parliament and where can you watch

Ms Sturgeon will be addressing Parliament this afternoon, at around 2.20pm.

You can stay up to date with all of the latest announcements via our Live Blog throughout the day, or you can watch via Scottish Parliament TV here. You are also able to stream the First Minister’s address via the BBC.

What has Nicola Sturgeon previously said about the reopening of schools?

On January, 19, it was announced that schools would be closed until at least the mid-February with Ms Sturgeon saying that while she wanted to reopen them on February 1, it was with “reluctant judgement” that they kept them shut.

It was earlier this month that the First Minister announced earlier that phased reopening was likely to begin on February 22.

She said that pupils in P1 to P3 and those in early learning and childcare were likely to return to full-time schooling from this date.

Older pupils in the senior stage who require access to schools to help complete national qualifications were also said to be returning in a staged manner from this date.

What Scots think of the plan to partially reopen schools

On February, 12, a new poll found that the vast majority of people in Scotland supported the partial reopening of schools.

The poll, undertaken by Savanta ComRes by The Scotsman, interviewed 1,002 adults aged 16 or over online between February 4 and 9.

A total of 58 per cent of Scots back the move to reopen schools, while 17 per cent oppose it, the poll shows.

This level of support is lower than when schools were shut in January – a move backed by 72 per cent of Scots and opposed by just 11 per cent, with 17 per cent stating they held no opinion or did not know.

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