The Government will inform schools next week whether they will be able to reopen after the February half-term.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson said one of the ‘key criteria’ for reopening schools would be ensuring the pressure on the NHS had eased.
‘My real focus is making sure that children get back into school at the earliest possible opportunity,’ he told Sky News.
‘Schools were the last to close and schools will very much be the first to reopen.’
He said he intended to give schools a ‘clear two-week notice period’ before they reopened.
This means if pupils are to return to classrooms after half-term – which starts on February 15 for most – schools will be informed by the end of next week.
‘What we will be wanting to do is to give schools as much notice as possible so teachers can get ready, children can prepare, and parents know in order to manage their lives,’ he added.
It comes after England’s deputy chief medical officer, Dr Jenny Harries, suggested earlier this week that schools across England may all reopen at different times depending on infection rates.
Mr Williamson also confirmed this morning that a further 1.3 million electronic devices would be distributed to help with remote learning while schools remain shut.
He told Times Radio that provision of laptops, tablets and routers were ‘the ultimate safety net’ for disadvantaged pupils.
‘In terms of laptop and tablet provision, there’s already an existing stock within the school system of 2.9 million laptops and tablets,’ he said.
‘We’re obviously topping that up, another 750,000 have already been dispatched over the last couple of weeks [and] another 50,000 this week.
‘We’re going to be taking that up to 1.3 million.’
He added he had ‘made it clear to schools’ what the ‘absolute minimum’ on remote education was, and had shared the details with parents.
‘We’re making sure there’s that ultimate safety net because there are youngsters that may have a laptop but actually due to the area they live in, due to poor internet connection, aren’t able to access the level of services or aren’t in a situation where they are able to have that type of access,’ he explained.
It was announced yesterday that mass testing at schools has been paused due to mutant strains of coronavirus.
In a statement, Public Health England said it is no longer clear whether the risk of exposing pupils through daily contact testing is worth the benefits.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.