Hope schools will reopen before Easter, says education secretary

School staff and parents will be given two weeks' notice for their classrooms to fully return, the education secretary has confirmed.

Gavin Williamson said he wants schools to reopen fully at the "earliest possible opportunity" - which he said he "hoped" would be before Easter.

Speaking to Times Radio on Thursday morning (January 21), he said: "We had to close schools, it was a national decision ... to relieve pressure on the NHS and reduce movement, but we do want to see all schools open.

"My enthusiasm to see them open will ensure that if we can get schools open at the earliest moment, then that is what we'll be doing.

"We'll give teachers and parents time to prepare ... and give them good notice of it. But we want to see school children back.

"We'd aim to give teachers, pupils and parents two weeks' notice so they're able to get ready and we'll always be looking for how we can get schools open for all at the earliest possible moment."

Currently schools are open to children of keyworkers and those considered vulnerable.

"My real focus is making sure that children get back into school at the earliest possible opportunity," Mr Williamson told Sky News.

"Schools were the last to close and schools will very much be the first to reopen."

He has said he hopes the daily testing of pupils and staff in secondary schools for coronavirus will be able to resume.

The programme was “paused” on Wednesday on the advice of Public Health England over concerns about the new variant of the virus.

Mr Williamson told BBC Breakfast: “With the emergence of a new variant what we have been asked to do by Public Health England is that they wanted to look at more detail as to how that was working with the new variant.

“We very much hope that we will be able to restart that programme that worked so well.”