The post-summer return to classrooms will, after two years of relentless upheaval, have something of a business-as-usual feel.

But while thorny issues such as remote learning and alternative certification have receded from public consciousness, they are being quickly replaced by challenges that were proving intractable long before Covid - and have been exacerbated by it.

Take the attainment gap. Last year, Audit Scotland said progress towards closing the difference between outcomes for the wealthiest and poorest learners had been limited and warned that the “pace of improvement” would have to increase.

There are worrying signs that clear discussion about such efforts is already becoming lost in political noise – notably over the SNP’s 2016 election manifesto and its promise that the Scottish Government will aim to “substantially eliminate” the gap by 2026. “I stand by that,” Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs in June. “That remains the policy and the objective of the Government.”

But Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville had muddied the waters only a couple of weeks previously with her suggestion that ministers would not be tied to an “arbitrary” date. Amid opposition claims that the target had been abandoned, she later appeared to back-pedal, insisting Ms Sturgeon’s administration was committed and highlighting plans to spend millions of pounds on additional teachers and other resources.

Most political bunfights come, go and are quickly forgotten. But there could well be lingering concern over the attainment gap row and indications of future SNP slipperiness, particularly when it comes to defining “substantial” progress. This year’s exam results – revealing a near-doubling of the performance gap between pupils living in the most and least deprived areas – signal that improvement prior to 2020 is already being reversed. With cost-of-living pressures threatening to accelerate the deterioration, laser-like clarity on goals, strategy and communication is needed more than ever.

Other problems are emerging. According to anecdotal reports, pupil behaviour worsened markedly in the period after Covid restrictions were eased and schools reopened. Many have linked the trend to lockdown with its stress and disruption. There can be little doubt that reduced social opportunities and the strain associated with shifting back to a structured teaching environment have delivered a hammer blow to the wellbeing of children and young people.

As the education system battles to get learning back on track, The Herald will strive to cover the myriad challenges – old and new – facing pupils and those tasked with supporting them.