I AM DELIGHTED to see a return to the classroom for children in nursery and the first three years of primary school.

This will be an exciting and nerve-wracking time for parents and pupils alike, and many will be relieved to see a return to in-person teaching.

This is the first step in the phased re-opening of schools and staff have been working hard to ensure safety measures are in place to welcome children back to the classroom.

While this first step is certainly a cause for celebration, we remain at a critical stage in the pandemic and many children will continue to learn from home for the time being. However, with the continued success of the vaccine rollout, I hope to see more of my young constituents rejoin their classmates in the near future.

Recently, I joined the over 1.4 million Scots who have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. I attended the Royal Highland Centre in Ingliston and was extremely impressed by how smooth and efficient the entire process was.

The daily rollout of the vaccine at Scotland’s mass vaccination centres is no small feat and I am grateful to all the staff and volunteers who are working to protect our citizens.

The vaccination itself was painless and I would encourage all my constituents who are offered the vaccine to get it. Getting vaccinated is the best way to keep ourselves, our loved ones and our essential workers safe.

This week, the Scottish Government published the Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland as part of Cyber Scotland Week 2021. This framework sets out what we need to do to make Scotland a digitally secure and resilient nation.

Last year, the UK saw a 31 per cent increase in cyber-crimes during the pandemic and it is vital that we have the skills and knowledge to help protect ourselves against scams.

The Cyber Scotland Week website will be hosting a range of events throughout this week which aim to increase cyber awareness and educate the next generation of innovative talent in the cyber sector.