REJOICE, PARENTS!
Primary pupils set to return to class in 2 weeks, with older kids back part-time
ALL pupils could be back behind their desks in a fortnight under radical plans set to be announced this week.
Primary children in every year group would return to school full-time from March 15, while secondary students will go back part-time.
The route out of lockdown unveiled last week by Nicola Sturgeon set out a phased approach where children would return at different times.
She outlined a timetable that would have seen some secondary year groups continuing with home learning for another seven weeks before returning to the classroom after the Easter holidays in April.
But her proposals sparked accusations that older pupils were being left on the scrapheap – and plans for a universal return to school have now been accelerated.
Final decisions have still to be made, but sources say Ms Sturgeon is preparing to announce the new, speedier return to schools on Tuesday.
The continued need for social distancing could mean parttime schooling, or blended learning, carries on for younger secondary pupils until the summer holidays.
The announcement is at odds with the First Minister’s previous warnings that sending all pupils back at once could send coronavirus transmission ‘through the roof’.
But the Government is facing growing pressure not to lag behind England, where schools return full-time from March 8. Concerns over children in S1S3, many of whom would not have returned to school until the second half of April, are another factor in the rethink.
A well-placed source said: ‘Ministers and civil servants are talking about all secondary pupils going back, years one to six, on March 15, most likely on a blended learning basis.
‘Nothing has been definitively agreed, but it’s likely that that’s what the First Minister is going to announce on Tuesday.
‘There is a genuine worry about S1 to S3 and how teachers can manage remote learning and in-school learning for the senior phase at the same time.’ Children in primary 1-3 and nursery last week became the first to return, while a very small number of senior pupils were allowed into school to complete practical work that could not be done at home.
Under the initial more cautious proposals, March 15 would have seen the remaining primary school pupils and more senior pupils resume face-toface learning. Ms Sturgeon had announced that a third phase from April 5 could then see all pupils return.
However, because that date fell in the Easter holidays, many of the younger secondary pupils would not return until as late as April 19.
Fears over pressure on the NHS have eased with the UK’s coronavirus alert level lowered from level five to four.
The insider said: ‘A few weeks ago, talking about phase one of the return, they said that they were going to be pretty cautious and monitor the impact on the R number before they made any decisions on phase two.
‘They’ve not waited a week and are talking about phase two definitely going ahead and being significantly larger than they were planning.
‘I suspect there’s a lot of politics playing into this now.
‘With all the other challenges the First Minister’s got, maybe she needs some sort of announcement on schools – particularly on Tuesday, the day before she’s due to attend the parliamentary inquiry into the Alex Salmond case.’
Under the latest proposal, two-metre social distancing would remain in place for secondary pupils, meaning not all could be in school at once.
Varying class and school sizes would likely force individual schools to make their own decisions about how much time children could spend at school.
The Cabinet is expected to discuss the proposal on Tuesday morning before Ms Sturgeon delivers a statement to Holyrood in the afternoon.
‘Suspect lot of politics playing into this now’
THEY were style sensations in TV hits The Queen’s Gambit and The Crown, sporting a series of ravishing outfits and winning armies of fashion fans.
But there will be precious little glamour for Anya Taylor-Joy and Emma Corrin tonight as they wait to hear if their performances have earned them a Golden Globe.
The ceremony, normally a glitzy red-carpet event, is being held virtually – and it seems the hopefuls have been happy to dress down for the occasion as they wait at home for the verdicts.
Anya, 24, who played chess prodigy Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, was spotted strolling in Los Angeles dressed all in black with a pair of chunkysoled burgundy Dr Martens.
Anya, American-born but Argentine-British by birth, also sported a Frozen-inspired plait and puffed on Marlboro Light cigarettes.
The willowy star is nominated for Best Actress in a made-for-TV film for The Queen’s Gambit and for
‘Sitting at home just takes all of the glamour out of it’
best actress in a motion picture for the film Emma. British breakthrough actress Emma Corrin, who produced an uncannily lifelike performance as Diana, Princess of Wales in The Crown, is Anya’s main rival for the Best Actress in a TV movie prize.
She chose to relax before the awards by going for a walk with her dog Spencer.
Emma, 25, wore a cosy hoodie and £216 Ashley Williams trousers with a skeleton print as she took to the streets of Hampstead, NorthWest London with her flatmate, Lara Spirit, who is a political campaigner.
The Golden Globes kicks off Hollywood’s awards season, and the British stars involved will have to wait at home to learn of her fate in the early hours of tomorrow.
Thanks to the eight-hour time difference with Los Angeles, Emma, The Crown co-star Olivia Colman and Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer will only learn whether they’ve won between 1am and 4am tomorrow.
Soon after nominations were announced on February 3, camera kits were sent to nominees all over the world for them to film themselves and their acceptance speeches. Due to Covid restrictions, gone are the glam-making squads of hairdressers, make-up artists and fashion designers who would usually be vying to beautify the A-listers.
Instead, British stars will be forced to get ready by themselves – or at best with a little help from those in their households. One insider said: ‘Sitting indoors with nowhere to go, even if you are dressed up, kind of takes all of the glamour out of things. It’s usually such a huge, fun event.’
Other hopeful Brits include Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles in The Crown), and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman).