Almost half of Scottish pupils who have entered P1 since the pandemic are weaker learners than those who began primary school before the lockdowns, new figures show.
Early years teachers have warned that growing numbers of children are unable to socialise easily, share toys or play without adult intervention.
According to an analysis of 965 schools, some 485 P1 classes were lagging behind pre-pandemic levels for subjects such as literacy and numeracy last year. About 342 P1 classes had shown improvement and 138 saw no change.
Public Health Scotland data shows that the proportion of toddlers missing developmental milestones has leapt since 2020.
