Education secretary Gavin Williamson will make a statement later today on the return of schools in England, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.
The announcement is set to come after it was reported yesterday that the return of English secondary schools is likely to be delayed until mid-January.
The new plan is expected to be announced later today as pressure mounted on ministers to allow more time for testing.
Mr Hancock told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The Education Secretary will be setting out his proposals later today. Clearly we want to protect education as much as possible.
“But the new variant does make it much easier for this disease to transmit. So we are going to protect education as much as we can.”
Only vulnerable students and the children of key workers could return to the classroom next Monday if new plans to stem the tide of Covid-19 are approved.
The new schools plan is set to be revealed amid rising tension as more areas across the UK are expected to be placed into tougher lockdown restrictions today (December 30) when Health Secretary Matt Hancock reveals changes to tiers.
Mr Williamson, the Education Secretary, will set out the plans in a statement to the House of Commons this afternoon.
It is expected at around 4pm.
