Since the 5^th of January schools in England have been closed except for those children who are classed as vulnerable and those of key workers. Schools could reopen on the 8^th of March at the earliest.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, yesterday confirmed the national lockdown will continue for at least another five weeks, dashing hope for thousands of parents who hoped schools would begin reopening after the February half-term on 22^nd February.

It still leaves parents’ home schooling for another five weeks - and means most of this term will have been without face-to-face lessons.

This will be a particular worry for pupils heading for whatever replaces GCSEs and A-levels this summer, after almost a full year of stop-start lessons.

Head teachers say the delay is "no surprise" - and reopening must be done safely.

The announcement came as the UK recorded another 1,725 coronavirus-related deaths. The government also announced that 7.1m people have received their first vaccination, half way to the government’s mid-February target of 14m.

Reopening school would be the “national priority” and the “first sign of normality returning” to England, the prime minister said. Mr Johnson intends for the current set of restrictions to represent the last lockdown in the pandemic.

He has yet to confirm plans of how schools will reopen, however it’s thought primary and exam years could go back first, but the Prime Minister wants pupils to begin at the same time in different parts of the country despite claims otherwise.

He said the government hoped to set out the results of the review and outline a “gradual and phased approach towards easing restrictions in a sustainable way”. But the prime minister warned that the timetable for reopening was “adjustable”.

Boris Johnson told a No10 press conference there must be proof measures are working before schools can reopen - and “the proof will only become visible in the middle of February.”

These measures will include if the promising start to the UK’s vaccination programme continues, no new coronavirus variants are discovered, and deaths and infections continue to fall.

However, the prime minister said that if the government was successful in vaccinating those in the top four priority groups by March 8, the most vulnerable within society should have acquired immunity, allowing the government to begin the safe reopening of schools.

Extra £300m catch up programme fund

He also told MPs that the government would provide additional resources to help students catch up for lost learning opportunities.

“We recognise that these extensive school closures have had a huge impact on children’s learning which will take more than a year to make up — so we will work with parents, teachers and schools to develop a long-term plan to make sure that people have the chance to make up their learning,” Mr Johnson said.

"We will provide a programme of catch-up over the next financial year and this will involve a further £300 million of new money for schools for tutoring.” That’s on top of the £1bn catch-up fund announced in June last year.

"And we will work in collaboration with the education sector to develop specific initiatives for summer schools and the Covid premium to support catch-up."

Arrangements for free school meals over the half-term holiday will be prolonged.

More support for families is required, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The safety of school staff and children must always come first.

“But the government needs to wake-up to the huge stress working parents are under. Many are losing out on hours and pay because of the lack of support available to them.”

“Ministers must urgently give all parents the temporary right to furlough, plus at least ten days’ paid parental leave each year.”

“It’s simply not sustainable to expect mums and dads to work as normal, while looking after their children and supervising schoolwork.”

“As ever this burden is falling hardest on women and the low paid. Without action now many risk being pushed out of the labour market”.

Safe and not rushed

Teachers' and head teachers' unions said they supported reopening schools but added that it must be safe and not rushed.

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said that although the most vulnerable would be protected by March, most parents would not be.

"It fails completely to recognise the role schools have played in community transmission. The prime minister has already forgotten what he told the nation at the beginning of this lockdown, that schools are a 'vector for transmission'," she said.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said the government needs to work with head teachers to review safety measures and create a "workable plan" for schools to reopen fully.

"The government will also have to put effort into reassuring families that it is safe to send their children back to school - there is a confidence test the government must pass to make the return a success," he said.

 Kier Starmer, Labour Leader says half-term should be used to vaccinate teachers to help expedite the reopening of schools.