Forex Trading For Beginners 2021: Covid-19: Call for all schools to stay shut amid U-turn 'chaos'

Children, Charlotte Rose, 5 and Alexander James, 3, practice their school work as home schooling continues on April 01, 2020 in Manchester, United Kingdom

The government has been accused of causing "chaos" after a last-minute decision to keep all London primary schools closed when term begins.

The U-turn comes as high coronavirus infection levels in the capital have put rising pressure on hospitals.

Ministers said closures were a "last resort" and education was a priority.

But Labour said the move had created "huge stress" for pupils, teachers and parents - while a union called for all schools to be shut nationwide.

The number of Covid cases continues to increase across the UK as a new variant of coronavirus spreads rapidly - with

stark warnings from hospital bosses about how the NHS could struggle to cope.

Friday was the fourth day in a row that the number of new cases reported in the UK was above 50,000.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said in mid-December that all primary school pupils in England would return as normal in January, while the return of secondary schools and colleges would be staggered to give them time to set up mass testing programmes.

But on Wednesday, Mr Williamson delayed the start of term for all secondary schools, as well as some primary schools in Covid hotspots in south-east England, including parts of London.

Two days later, after pressure from local authorities, he expanded the primary school closures to the whole of London.

It means more than a million primary school pupils will now learn from home for at least the first two weeks of term.

Vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers will continue to attend school, the government said, adding that early years care, alternative provision and special schools will remain open.

Labour and unions representing teachers have criticised the timing of the announcement.

"This is yet another government U-turn creating chaos for parents just two days before the start of term," said Labour's shadow education secretary Kate Green.

"Gavin Williamson's incompetent handling of the return of schools and colleges is creating huge stress for parents, pupils, and school and college staff and damaging children's education."

The joint head of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted, called for all primary and secondary schools to be closed.

"What is right for London is right for the rest of the country," she said.

The NASUWT union said the government had disregarded scientific advice suggesting nationwide school closures could be "essential in breaking the chain of coronavirus transmission".

NASUWT's general secretary, Dr Patrick Roach said primary schools and parents in other areas subject to tier four coronavirus restrictions would "no doubt wonder why the government regards the risks to their health and safety as less significant than in other tier four areas in London and the South East".

Analysis box by Iain Watson, political correspondent

When Greenwich Council in south-east London announced the closure of schools in mid-December, the Department for Education swiftly deployed legal action to force it to backtrack.

But barely two weeks later, it's the government which has changed position.

First, earlier this week it agreed to the closure of primary and not just secondary schools in 50 areas in south-east England - even though its own guidance said this should happen only rarely.

Education ministers maintain it is epidemiology, not expediency, that has forced their hand - decisions are taken in consultation with the Department for Health and public health professionals.

But over the past 48 hours they have listened closely to, rather than lectured, those London authorities - including Greenwich - that were calling for more schools to close.

The Department for Education isn't envisaging further school closures in tier four areas - which cover 75% of England's population.

Sources say that other local authorities are not asking for this. But if more councils do become concerned about local rates of transmission, pressure could grow on ministers to send more children home.

Mr Williamson said the London-wide closures were a "last resort and a temporary solution" to help tackle the particularly high infection rates in the capital.

"We must make this move to protect our country and the NHS. We will continue keep the list of local authorities under review, and reopen classrooms as soon as we possibly can," he said.

"Children's education and wellbeing remains a national priority."

The Department for Education has previously said decisions on school closures and openings were based on new infections, positivity rates, and pressures on the NHS.

What is happening with schools in January?

The start of term has already been delayed for millions of pupils across the UK.

Secondary schools in England will stagger their return after Christmas. Pupils taking exams in 2021 will now start on 11 January, with other year groups returning in person on 18 January. Most primary schools in England will return on 4 January, but in London and some surrounding areas they will not open for most pupils until 18 January.

In Wales, local councils have been told they can be "flexible" with when they open. According to councils, many schools aim to return for face-to-face lessons from 11 January, with some fully open on 6 January.

In Northern Ireland, primary school pupils will be taught online until 11 January. In secondary schools, years 8 to 11 will be taught online throughout January. Years 12 to 14 will return to school after the first week of January.

In Scotland, the Christmas holidays have been extended to 11 January, and the following week will be online learning only. A full return to face-to-face learning is planned for 18 January.

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According to figures on the government's coronavirus dashboard, London has the highest weekly coronavirus rate in England, with a rate of 858.5 confirmed cases per 100,000 population - almost double the rate for England as a whole.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said closing all London schools was "the right decision" and praised the "constructive conversations over the past two days".

He said the original plan to only keep some London schools closed was "ridiculous and has been causing immense confusion for parents, teachers and staff across the capital".

Some 53,285 new Covid cases and a further 613 deaths were reported by the UK government on Friday. This does not include data from Northern Ireland or Wales, or the number of deaths from Scotland - as these are not being published on certain days during the Christmas and New Year period.

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Hospital bosses warned the next few weeks will be "nail-bitingly difficult" for the NHS, with staff absences and the new coronavirus variant virus creating a "challenging situation".

A study published on Friday showed the new variant is "hugely" more transmissible than the previous version.