It was confirmed this afternoon that it will be back to the bricks and mortar of school for many Scottish pupils as of Monday.

But when first minister Nicola Sturgeon addressed the Scottish Parliament, she also revealed other important details of planned return, such as the support package being put in place to “accelerate school recovery” and when other pupils could start returning.

There was also more on that one-off payment for secondary teachers promised by education secretary John Swinney, back in December at the same time as he cancelled exams.

Coronavirus: Pupils returning to schools in Scotland

Here are the key points for education from today’s statement:

• Pupils in early primary and senior secondary will begin returning to school on Monday - P1-3 will return full-time (as will preschool children) and students in S4-6 will be able to return part-time to carry out practical work related to qualifications.
• Other pupils are unlikely to return to school buildings before Monday 15 March - something we highlighted in this article after the government’s advisers recommended three weeks between each phase of the return to assess its impact. Ms Stugeon said she hoped to set out the second phase of the return in two weeks’ time, on Tuesday 2 March.
• How primary schools will manage the return of P1-3 if there are composite classes that straddle lower and upper primary is an issue that has been raised by teachers. Today Ms Sturgeon said that, in the case of P3-4 composite classes, P4 pupils would not be returning unless there were “exceptional circumstances”, because she wanted to avoid sending “mixed messages” about which children were returning to school and to limit the increase the number of children in school.
• To help local authorities implement “additional safety mitigations” - which Ms Sturgeon later said would include things such as improving ventilation - an additional £40 million was announced, as part of a wider £100 million package to “accelerate school recovery”. The government said it expected this would include employing more teachers, classroom support staff and facilities management
• Senior secondary students will be required to observe two-metre physical distancing while in school, and on school transport, in the period immediately after the return. The government had been urged by the EIS teaching union to require P1-3 children to socially distance - which would lead to less time in school and smaller class sizes. However, the government stuck with its plans for a full-time return on Monday in early primary.
• The deadline for submitting provisional grades has been extended from 18 June to Friday 25 June - that is the last day of term in Edinburgh; Glasgow schools close the day before, as do Fife schools. This is the second time the National Qualifications 2021 Group has extended the deadline for estimates.
• Twice weekly at-home testing using lateral flow devices is planned for senior pupils and school staff to support the return to school. As of yesterday, Ms Sturgeon said, more than 2,200 schools had received deliveries of test kits. Scottish government figures show there are 2,476 schools in Scotland.
• All teachers and lecturers involved in awarding national qualifications this year will receive a one-off payment of £400 - when Tes Scotland asked for examples of secondary teachers who would not receive the payment, the Scottish government was unable to provide further information. Ms Sturgeon said this money would be paid to part-time teachers on a pro-rata basis.
• Two days will be set aside for teachers to work on assessments this year. Again, there was no further detail forthcoming when Tes Scotland asked for it; Ms Sturgeon said in her update this would be “provided shortly”.
• Ms Sturgeon was asked if teachers would be prioritised for vaccination in the second wave - given that the return to face-to-face learning was her top priority. She said it was a possibility that prioritisation by occupation could happen, but that the government was waiting for advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Earlier this month it was revealed that some special school staff are being prioritised who are “undertaking tasks that are essentially health and social care-style activity”.