Schools should be reopened after the February half-term break in areas where Covid-19 infection rates are low, Conservative MPs have urged.
The Government was also told to treat the closures as a “national emergency” given the mental health “timebomb” being created by the pandemic, with children, parents and school staff all struggling.
Education minister Nick Gibb said the Government will be “led by the science” when making decisions about “moving away from the lockdown conditions”.
It is expected parents will receive two weeks’ notice ahead of any reopening and the Government will be “making announcements in the next few days”, Mr Gibb added.