Schools reopening: School kids to wear masks in classrooms until end of term as ALL pupils in England return on March 8

SECONDARY pupils will have to wear masks in the classroom when schools reopen on March 8, it was announced today.

Older children will be asked to wear face coverings at their desks as well as in corridors until the end of term under the PM's roadmap to reopen the country.

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Previously the use of face coverings has been left to the discretion of head teachers, but they are now set to be made compulsory.

It comes as the lowest death toll in ten weeks was today recorded - while the number of week-on-week infections grew for the first time since the start of January.

The roadmap released today states: "The Government recommends that the use of face coverings in Higher Education, Further Education and secondary schools is extended for a limited period to all indoor environments - including classrooms - unless 2m social distancing can be maintained.

"Face coverings are now also recommended in early years and primary schools for staff and adult visitors in situations where social distancing between adults is not possible, for example, when moving around in corridors and communal areas.

"All children will once again be expected to attend school, as they were in the autumn term."

It comes as...

• Boris Johnson today announced his map was a "one way road to freedom"
• All students will return to England schools from March 8
• Hairdressers will open from April 12 along with gyms
• Pubs will reopen for indoor drinking in May as outdoor service returns in April
• Brits will be able to meet inside from May 17 while following the rule of 6 or two households
• Working from home measures will remain in place until at least June
• Nightclubs will reopen on June 21 as the lockdown is lifted into summer
• A full list of businesses that must stay closed until April 12 was revealed today - with cinemas and bingo halls to stay closed until May 17

But speaking in a press conference tonight, Boris Johnson today confirmed the measures would only be in place until the end of term.

Schools are set to return from March 8 for all pupils in all year groups in England - rather than a staggered approach.

Professor Chris Whitty today said good ventilation and hygiene practises would also help to keep schools safe but the impact of secondary students wearing masks would be monitored over the first five weeks of school.

And he today said he fully supported the move to get kids back to school - saying the face mask measures and increased testing would help ensure the safety of students and staff.

The Chief Medical Officer said: "It is absolutely universally accepted that there are huge advantages for children to be in school - mentally and physically and for their education and life.

"If you keep children out of school, every child is disadvantaged."

Prof Whitty said in contrast, the risk of Covid to kids was "incredibly low", adding: "We are confident that given the huge benefits of school, the residual risk is strongly in favour of children - primary and secondary - going to school."

And he said the Easter holidays in five weeks time would provide a natural "fire break" if cases in schools started to grow.

Children in Scotland and Wales started to go back today.

Younger kids are returning in small numbers, before more join them in the next few weeks.

Senior secondary pupils will need to stick to two-metre social distancing within schools and on school buses, while Covid-19 testing will be made available to them and teachers.

Ministers say that by March 8, the most vulnerable will have been vaccinated and that protection would have kicked in.

The Prime Minister is preparing a major school safety campaign this week to convince parents children are safe, despite nine teaching unions saying they want a staggered return. 

The PM faces huge opposition from unions over his plan, who have warned of a huge spike in cases if all kids go back at once.

But a fresh Labour civil war exploded once again after Sir Keir Starmer threw his weight behind a “big bang” opening - to the fury of left-wingers in his party. 

And they were backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury who said he was “absolutely sure” the government was right to prioritise the reopening of schools, saying: "That is probably the most urgent thing, it's been the most urgent thing right the way through."

It came as it emerged pupils will be given extra classes during the summer holidays to help them catch up with lessons missed during the pandemic.

Speaking on Sunday morning, Sir Keir told Sky News: "Ideally, I'd like to see all schools back open on 8th March and all children back in school on March 8.

"I've been worried through the pandemic, a number of people have, about the impact that being out of school has on particularly vulnerable children and the attainment gap is getting bigger, so ideally March 8.

"We'll have to see obviously where the data is, see where the science is, but that's what we should be working towards.

"If that means more testing, if that means Nightingale classrooms, if it means other measures, let's do that because I want to get our kids back into school.

But that flew in the face of a joint statement from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the NAHT school leaders' union, the National Education Union (NEU), the NASUWT teachers' union, the National Governance Association (NGA), the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) and Labour-affiliated unions Unison, Unite and GMB.

They all said school return should be staggered by year group and called Mr Johnson’s plan "reckless".

Unison, Unite and GMB are also major donors to the Labour party.

And former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell also took to the airwaves on Sunday morning to demand that Labour “listen to the unions.”