The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Lockdown learning returns to schools
Children at Longhaugh PS in Dundee enjoyed being back in the classroom as some Scottish pupils made a return yesterday. Younger learners are the first to resume classes.
A“real buzz of excitement” was the feeling shared across classrooms yesterday as many children got back to school for the first time since before Christmas.
At Dundee’s North East Campus, home to St Francis RC Primary, Longhaugh Primary and Quarry View Nursery, each of the three head teachers expressed their happiness as pupils arrived at the school gates.
Susan Krachan, head of Quarry View, said: “There’s been a lot of a smiles and you could really feel that buzz as the children were looking forward to seeing their friends and the staff.”
Longhaugh head Nicola Jenkins said: “There’s been a real sense of families feeling lifted by the news and they’re absolutely delighted to get the children back into the school building.”
The feeling was no different among the staff and families at St Francis, with head teacher Neil Lowden adding: “You could see the children start to mix together again – they haven’t seen their friends for a couple of months so it was exciting and positive.”
Abernyte Primary in rural Perthshire has enough pupils for just one classroom, which includes a mixture of P1-7, meaning the whole school of 12 pupils were welcomed back under Scottish Government guidance.
Gerard Mcgoldrick, parent council chairman and parent of a P2 pupil, said: “It’s great news for everyone.
“When you’re from a small rural school, you generally live in a small village where there aren’t loads of kids kicking about, so being part of the school is a big part of their social life.”
Like many working parents, Fife mum Janis Mcculloch was relieved to see seven-year-old daughter Jessica reunited with her friends and teachers at Bellyeoman Primary School, in Dunfermline.
Since the start of term in January, Jessica and little sister Emily, 3, have been learning at home while mum Janis, a media officer for Scouts Scotland, and dad Paul Cronin, a civil engineer, work from home.
Janis said: “She was a little bit nervous, butterflies in her tummy in the morning, but excited to see her friends and her teacher in real life instead of over videos.”
Meanwhile, a Fife head teacher praised senior pupils for their resilience after a limited number of young people were permitted to return to school for essential practical coursework.
Elizabeth Smart, rector at Waid Academy, Anstruther, said teachers were delighted to be able to physically teach their classes again after worrying about how to deliver their lessons remotely.
Education Secretary John Swinney yesterday described how “detailed clinical analysis” had informed the government’s decision to allow Scotland’s youngest pupils to return, with risk assessments carried out by schools and letters sent to all families explaining the science behind the reopening.