Boris Johnson declined to guarantee that all children would be back in school before the summer holidays.
But said he is full of “optimism and fundamental hope” that things will be different in the spring.
Asked to guarantee that all pupils will be back in classrooms before the summer holidays, the Prime Minister told the Downing Street press conference: “We think that with the vaccination programme we can do a huge amount to take out of the path of the virus those who are most vulnerable.
"That clearly offers opportunities to our country to do things differently.
“I am full of the same optimism and fundamental hope about the position that I think Chris (Whitty) has adopted and I really think that things will be very different in the spring and that’s what I would certainly say to every parent in the land.”
He also said there is a “prospect” the coronavirus lockdown in England can be eased in mid-February.
The Prime Minister told a No 10 press conference: “When a very considerable proportion of the most vulnerable groups have been vaccinated … then there really is the prospect of beginning the relaxation of some of these measures.
“But you will also appreciate there are a lot of caveats, a lot of ifs built into that, the most important of which is that we all now follow the guidance.”
