This is what we’ve all been waiting for...

It’s the week we’ve all been waiting for.

The week our children have returned to their classrooms after months of homeschooling.

We all know how crucial this step is, not just for their education, but also their wellbeing.

But it’s more than that.

This marks the first step back to normality for us all. The first step of the national approach to help us get out of lockdown and back to normal life, preCovid.

There are many people who are, quite rightly, dubious about the children going back to school.

Surely the number of coronavirus cases are just going to shoot back up again now that they’re all mixing, people are questioning. Speaking on Monday, at a Downing Street press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the return to school would “of course have an impact on the spread of the virus”.

But, he added, that’s why it is “more vital than ever to follow the rules” so that the roadmap to easing lockdown restrictions can continue as planned, with all legal limits on social contact potentially being removed from June 21 this year.

We are also in a much better place now than we were when the children went back to school last time.

Now, more than 21 million people in the country have had a dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

So let’s take this week as a positive. We’re one step closer to normality.

Let’s not lose track now: keep wearing those face coverings, social distancing, and stay at home when possible - we’re almost there.

‘This marks the first step back to normal life for us all’