The Government is believed to be looking at plans to allow primary school children to return to classrooms from 1 June.
The government believes getting children back to school is key to getting the nation moving again.
It’s expected Boris Johnson will announce the move after being encouraged by evidence that the risk to under 13s from Covid-19 is much less than adults.
This would get youngsters back in class and learning, but also free up parents to return to work where possible.
If the initial rollout is successful, this would be closely followed by other school years.
A Whitehall source told The Guardian: “The focus is getting primary school pupils back first but only if the R is at a safe level. After primary schools have returned, we will then look at years 10 and 12.”
R refers to the measure of how coronavirus is spreading through the population.
The plan is similar to the approach being taken in Germany, where children from two school years will be going back to the classroom in the coming days.
The UK government is keen to get Britain moving again and is developing a wider exit strategy covering schools, transport, public spaces, recreation and workplaces.
This week, the Prime Minister will set out how he plans to “un-lock” Britain after six weeks of standstill. The government will be quick to point out it must be done slowly and carefully to avoid a second spike of infections.
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