The phased return of pupils to classrooms in Scotland will begin on Monday, the first minister has confirmed.

Nicola Sturgeon revealed the news in a statement to the Scottish parliament, as she said the country’s lockdown would continue until “at least” the beginning of March and “possibly for a further period beyond that”.

She told MSPs the shutdown was working – with fewer COVID-19 patients in hospital and intensive care – but cautioned that “even a slight” easing of restrictions could see cases “start rising rapidly again”.

And Ms Sturgeon said that a return to “100% normality” would not be possible in the near future.

She told the Scottish parliament that some measures may have to remain in force, with “trade offs” required to ease some restrictions.

“I know this is difficult given how desperate we all are to get back to something close to normal, but if we open up too quickly to meet arbitrary dates, we risk setting progress back,” the first minister said.

“Indeed, because of the new, more infectious variant, our exit from lockdown is likely to be even more cautious than it was last summer.

“And secondly, probably for a while yet, 100% normality is unlikely to be possible.

“So in a world where we can’t do everything immediately, we will need to decide what matters most.”

Ms Sturgeon said the government hopes to produce a new roadmap for easing lockdown next week, with more emphasis on data rather than timings for relaxing measures.

Giving MSPs an example of what it might say, Ms Sturgeon said it would likely advise Scots not to book Easter holidays, but added that “staycations” in the summer may be permitted depending on the data.

On schools, Ms Sturgeon said pupils in Primary 1 to Primary 3 will return on 22 February, along with those in the senior phase of secondary school.

She said older pupils would only be allowed back to make sure practical work important to their qualifications was finished.

The first minister said that further returns to school would not take place before 15 March, in order to allow sufficient time to assess the impact of the return in phase one.

Ms Sturgeon said earlier this month that the return of pupils would be supported by an expansion of testing, with older pupils and anyone working in schools or childcare settings routinely tested twice a week.

The return date is two weeks earlier than the potential date proposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the reopening of schools in England.

In Wales, children aged three to seven will also return to the classroom on 22 February, along with some older children on vocational courses.

In Northern Ireland, ministers are set to discuss a potential date for reopening schools at a meeting on Thursday.

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