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Presenter Kirsty Gallacher says it is ‘vital’ for children to return to school

The mum-of-two, who had coronavirus earlier this year, said she understood parental anxieties about the issue.

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Television presenter Kirsty Gallacher said she was “not anxious” about her children returning to school, but could “empathise” with parents who were.

The 44-year-old said she felt it was “vital” children go back so they can see their friends again and return to formal education.

However, the mother-of-two said she understood why parents might be nervous, adding: “I think we all feel a little mix of that.”

Gallacher told the PA news agency: “To me it’s so vital our children go back to school so they have some normality.

“They get back into academic education, they are seeing their friends, even though they are going to be in this pod or bubble.”

She added: “Home schooling was very difficult for all of us and I felt I very much wasn’t doing a good enough job, even though I was very much trying to get them to do the right thing.”

Gallacher, who is supporting the Government’s “back to school safely” campaign, said she also knew the risks of coronavirus, after being infected with it around March.

Childrens BAFTA Awards
TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher (Yui Mok/PA)

She said: “Coronavirus is very real, and I can vouch for that. I was very, very lucky.

“I did have a moderate bout of it. I was in bed and it did last a long time. I didn’t go to hospital, but I did speak to a GP.

“But I was scared, I was very scared, because it was early as well. It was March, April when we were hearing all these mixed messages, because no one really knew.

“When you have it, it mutates very quickly and I went through all of those stages, which I found frightening.”

Gallacher said she “trusted” the schools to keep her children safe and had been talking to her two boys about their possible return in autumn.

She added: “I can completely empathise with parents being nervous, unsure, scared, (I) completely get that. I think we all feel a little mix of that.

“But for me the overwhelming thing is I need my children to go back to school. They need to get back to education in a formal way.”

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