Education secretary Gavin Williamson says he is “absolutely confident” that schools will return on the new dates set out by the Department for Education, and that there will be no further delays to reopening.

The DfE yesterday announced a revised plan for a staggered return to school next term which means primary schools in areas particularly badly affected by the virus will provide face-to-face education for vulnerable children and children of key workers only for two weeks from Monday, while the majority of secondary pupils will not return to school full-time until 18 January, apart from exam pupils who will return on January 11.

When asked this morning on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme whether he could rule out further delays, Mr Williamson said: “We’re absolutely confident that all schools are returning. You’re going to see over 85 per cent of primary schools returning on Monday morning [and] you’re going to be seeing exam cohorts going back right across the country on the eleventh of January.”

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Mr Williamson was then asked: “That’s what you’re hoping [is going] to happen but you can’t guarantee that can you?”

He said: “We’re absolutely confident that that is what is going to happen because we know the value of education, we know the importance of education on people’s lives and I know there’s a lot of people who sort of run to the position of closing schools but we’ve all seen in terms of what our children benefit from by being in school, how great it is and that’s why it’s always been this government’s priority to protect education and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”