Comment: Re-opening schools in Fife is a significant landmark

This week’s editorial comment from the Fifee Free Press followed the announcement of a full return to classrooms for Fife pupils in August

Getting our schools open and functioning has been one of the biggest challenges of lockdown.

The reaction to proposals to limit pupils to one day a week in class as part of a ‘blended return’ was overwhelmingly negative.

That may have sparked a U-turn – or simply been part of a bid to test the waters with the worst case scenario, and then manage expectations accordingly.Regardlesss it’s the outcome that matters most to parents , pupils and teachers.

It is also a landmark moment in this pandemic – one which will ripple much wider than classrooms across Fife.

Fife schools aim to open full time to all pupils in August

After three months in lockdown, the virus appears to receding, and slowly, but steadily, we are moving towards normality once more.

Re-opening schools is critical to ensure the attainment gap doesn’t wider any further.

Re-opening schools gets youngsters back on track with their studies and future plans.

Re-opening schools is also significant for business – from retail to healthcare – because it allows parents the chance to get back to work.

Re-opening schools suggests that social distancing will also change.

More support as Fife town centres emerge from lockdown

It’s impossible to see how classrooms maintain two-metre distances between pupils, and if that measurement can be successfully reduced or curtailed in anyway – without risk to health – then the hospitality sector suddenly has a much more positive future.

There is still much work to be done to ensure schools can return safely, and the big step forward comes with a caveat that our coronavirus figures must continue to be suppressed.

There remains an onus on us all to play our part. By doing simple things such as adhering to social distancing, wearing face masks in public, we can look ahead with a greater degree of confidence. There is light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel.

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspapers - the Fife Free Press, Fife Herald, St Andrews Citizen and East Fife Mail.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the highest standards in the world. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Allan Crow, Editor, Fife Free Press