In an address to the nation on Sunday, Boris Johnson sketched out his plans for easing restrictions that have been in place since March 23, saying that the phased reopening of schools could begin from June 1.
Previously, the government made the decision to close schools across the UK, and cancel A Level and GCSE examinations, amidst plans to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The measures came into place on March 23, and applied to all pupils except those of key workers, who are needed to keep vital and emergency services available.
Schools along with teaching staff are now waiting to hear what's next in store for them as part fo the government's 'conditional plan' for reopening the UK.
Here, we take a closer look at what's been outlined so far.
When will schools reopen?
In his announcement at 7pm on May 10, Boris Johnson indicated the return to school would be gradual, and begin "at the earliest" on June 1.
The government stated in it's 50-page strategy, published today, that it expects pre-school children to be able to return to early years settings, and for Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils to be back in school in “smaller sizes”, from the start of next month.
It aims to ensure that the youngest children, and those preparing for secondary school, have “maximum time with their teachers”.
The ambition is for all primary school children to return to school before the summer holidays for a month “if feasible” – but this will be kept under review.
In addition secondary schools and further education colleges should prepare to begin some “face-to-face contact” with Year 10 and 12 students who have key exams next year.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast today, Dominic Raab said there will be a “phased” approach to reopening primary schools, starting with Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils.
But a senior official said that “realistically” there was no prospect of other secondary pupils returning to class before September.
Education leaders have slammed the plans as "nothing short of reckless", with the general secretary of the teachers' union saying the profession has “very serious concerns”.
Patrick Roach, of NASUWT, told BBC Breakfast: “The fact of the matter is the Government has announced a date but hasn’t come forward with a plan about how schools will ensure that they’re safe for pupils and safe for staff to be in from June 1.
“And the Prime Minister said that it would be madness to risk a second spike in relation to transmission of the virus. Well the profession has got very serious concerns about that announcement of June 1, whether indeed it is possible to achieve it, but also how to achieve that in a way which is safe for pupils and staff.”
Yesterday First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she does not expect schools in Scotland to reopen as early as June, in a divergence from English plans.
When previously referring to reports that Boris Johnson was considering reopening schools on June 1, she said: “I cannot and should not comment on whether that is appropriate for England … but I do know, looking at the evidence I have now, I could not put my hand on my heart and say that would be a safe thing to do in Scotland.”
In Wales, the First Minister Mark Drakeford has already ruled out following the same timetable as England, saying: "We're not going to be reopening schools in Wales in the next three weeks, or indeed in June."
At the moment schools in Northern Ireland will potentially return in a phased manner in September, according to Education Minister Peter Weir.
Overall, Boris Johnson's announcement last night means schools will remain shut to the majority of children for the remainder of the academic year.
Most secondary pupils in England, and most pupils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are unlikely to return before the end of the summer.
What health and safety precautions will be in place for staff and pupils?
After the Prime Minister's announcement, a snap poll of the teachers' union members revealed 92 per cent "would not feel safe with the proposed wider opening of schools".
Leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, Geoff Barton, said it was important the school reopening date was not "set in stone", as it's unclear how the proposed numbers of pupils could be "safely managed".
Speaking on BBC Breakfast today, Mr Roach mentioned the strong evidence that schools are lacking personal protective equipment (PPE).
He said: “If you’re dealing with five and six-year-olds and 11-year-olds, how to ensure stringent social distancing in that context is a big challenge and Government simply haven’t answered that challenge.
“And finally, just in terms of risk assessments, parents will want to know that schools are going to be hygienic, they’re going to be safe for their children to be in. And we still don’t have any clear standards about what safe cleaning routines would be like within a school context and we need to have that.”
Mr Raab told BBC Breakfast: “We will make sure that we would have clear guidance about how that can be done with social distancing, with hygiene.
“The evidence suggests that there’s very little, there’s much lower risk for young children getting this virus.
“The risk is that you get transmission through children between households… so what we want to do is make sure, and we’ll obviously have more evidence by the time we get to June 1, which will be at the earliest, subject to conditions, the point at which we start in a very phased controlled way proceeding.
“So we’ll be providing that guidance and we’ll be able to monitor very carefully what happens to the virus between now and then.”
