Children who have long been out of the classroom could be asked to attend summer schools in a bid to help catch up on missed education, it has been reported.
Government ministers are said to be looking at plans to fund classes over the summer holidays in a bid to help those pupils who fall behind to catch up on their schooling.
Officials were reported to be examining a model which was already used last year by some schools offering classes for half days over the summer period.
It comes after the Prime Minister announced that classrooms would remain closed to most pupils until at least March 8 as the country continues restrictions under the third national lockdown.
A source told Mail Online: "Schools need a break. Working parents would normally expect to have their children over school holidays."
Government sources also reportedly told the paper that they face a huge task in helping pupils catch up.
Meanwhile, Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield said earlier this week there was a 'real danger' that schools could stay shut until the summer because of a 'lack of planning.'
She said that a 'clear roadmap' for reopening was 'lacking' and called on MPs to 'think creatively.'
In a report titled 'Roadmap to reopening schools', she said: "Unfortunately it is a lot easier to close schools than to reopen them.
"Everyone recognises the necessity of reopening schools as soon as possible, but hope alone will not make it happen.
"What is lacking is a clear roadmap towards this.
"There is a real danger that schools will remain closed until Easter at the earliest, or even into the summer - not because the virus makes this inevitable, but because of a lack of planning."
