Contingency planning guidance on “remote learning” also outlines plans to lend school laptops to pupils without home computers and to set up collection points for lessons at local libraries.

Schools would be informed of changes to educational radio and television programmes so they could link materials to the broadcasts and send them to pupils’ homes either by post or electronically.

Setting up a free-to-air digital channel dedicated to education is under consideration, the document discloses, but this would depend on progress in expanding digital TV - and there are fears that some pupils might be left without access.

“We would therefore hope that at least a reasonable proportion of educational programming could appear on terrestrial channels, though clearly what would be most appropriate, and its availability, will be the subject of ongoing discussions,” the Government states.

Its guidance urges schools and councils to look at how they could continue lessons in the event of lengthy school closures. They are asked to find out which pupils have computer access at home and how they could get schoolwork to them.