The decision about whether or not to reopen schools in January has been delayed until after Christmas because a meeting between Boris Johnson and the Department for Education (DfE) was postponed.
The Prime Minister was due to raise how long children should be taught from home for during a meeting with DfE ministers this week but, as talk of a Brexit deal gained momentum, the meeting was put on ice, according to Tes.
Despite millions more moving into Tier 4 measures from Saturday, Communities Minister Robert Jenrick told parents schools would be open next month.
He said classes would restart in person in "the first few weeks of January", with teachers overseeing Covid tests for pupils to avoid major disruption.
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However, Professor Neil Ferguson told the Commons Science and Technology Committee the new strain of coronavirus is "everywhere", but that he expects new Tier 4 restrictions and revised measures over Christmas would have a positive impact.
He said: "Schools are now shut, we are in a near-lockdown situation across the country. Contact rates are lower over Christmas.
"I expect, though I hesitate to make any sort of predictions, we will see a flattening of the curve in the next two weeks. We will see at least a slowing of growth.
"The critical question is what happens in January and the extent we want to make public health measures more uniform across the country if the new variant is everywhere."
There are fears that the mutant coronavirus strain spreads more easily among children.
A source told Tes: "A final decision has not been made yet. I think there are basically two camps.
"One which thinks we should wait to see what happens with case numbers over Christmas time because over the two weeks it could resolve itself, and then another camp which thinks that this will not resolve itself over two weeks, that the situation could get worse and that a decision needs be made to move schools online."
