Former teachers are being urged to return to the classroom to help keep schools open in the event of expected staff shortages in the new year.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi is urging retirees and those who have left the profession to help boost the number of supply staff available.
They are being asked to find at least a day a week to help preserve face-to-face education for millions of children throughout the Spring term.
School unions have warned that the Omicron variant could lead to large numbers of teachers and support staff isolating at home with the virus.
The Government has made clear it expects schools, in particular primaries, to be the very last thing that closes in the event of further restrictions.
But Mr Zahawi said: “We must make sure schools and colleges have the teachers available to remain open for face-to-face education”.
The vetting process will be sped up so that large numbers of applications can be processed quickly to get teachers into classrooms.
But ex-teachers still are being asked to sign up from today to get it underway as soon as possible ahead of schools reopening in January.
Officials fear that some local areas will struggle to find sufficient numbers of supply teachers as the Omicron virus surges across the country.
Many schools have resorted to virtual learning for the last few days of term to help curb the virus spreading ahead of Christmas.
Teachers who have trained through programmes like Teach First, but now work outside the profession, are among those encouraged to return.
Some older retirees may, however, have concerns about working in an environment with young children who do not yet qualify for vaccination.
