Coronavirus: All children in England 'back to school in September'

All pupils in all year groups in England will go back to school in September, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced.

At the daily coronavirus briefing, he said the government was "signed up... to bring every child back, in every year group, in every school".

Guidance on safety measures will be published in the next fortnight.

It comes after the prime minister announced a £1bn fund to help England's pupils catch up with learning.

Schools closed to everyone except vulnerable children and those with a parent identified as a key worker on 20 March, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

As the lockdown measures started easing at the beginning of this month, children in nursery, reception, Year 1 and Year 6 were encouraged to returning to primary schools in England, albeit in smaller class sizes.

Some Year 10 and 12 pupils - selected because they are sitting GCSEs and A-levels respectively next summer - returned to secondary schools and colleges this week.

Ministers now want all pupils in England to return to classrooms full-time in the autumn, ending a near six-month absence for many pupils.

"School is vital to every one of our children, that is why we will bring all children, in all year groups, back to school in September," Mr Williamson said

Mr Williamson also said ministers were looking at expanding "bubbles" of children in the classroom from the current maximum of 15 "to include the whole class".

Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "determined to do everything" he could to get all children back in school from September.

"We will bring forward plans on how this will happen as soon as possible," he said.

There are separate rules for managing the threat of coronavirus in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Schools in Wales are reopening at the end of June, with only a third of pupils in class at any time, while in Scotland, schools are preparing to reopen on 11 August.

Social distancing in schools has been halved to 1m (just over 3ft) in Northern Ireland, where ministers are aiming for a full reopening of schools on 24 August.

However, head teachers have warned that parts of the Northern Ireland plan are "unrealistic and undeliverable".

The £1bn fund to help England's children catch up will see the most disadvantaged pupils gain access to tutors through a £350m programme in the year from September.

Primary and secondary schools will be given £650m to spend on one-to-one or group tuition for any pupils they think need it.