Forex Trading For Beginners 2021: Covid: Gavin Williamson 'looking at' longer school day and shorter holidays

Longer school days and shorter holidays are among the measures the government is considering to help pupils in England catch up on lost learning, the education secretary has said.

Gavin Williamson told the BBC ministers were looking at "how the school year runs" after the disruption of Covid.

He also told Sky News a five-term year and changes to summer holidays were under consideration.

Schools in England are reopening to all pupils on Monday.

It marks the first step of the "road map" out of the national lockdown, which has been in place since the beginning of January and has seen most children learning from home since before Christmas.

Asked by the BBC's Andrew Marr whether the government was going to extend the school day, Mr Williamson said: "I think we should be evidence-based and we're looking at that, we're looking at how the school year runs."

Mr Williamson also told Sky News' Sophy Ridge that ministers were looking at "a whole range of proposals".

The education secretary was also asked whether schools would remain open if the R number rose above 1, which means the number of cases is continuing to increase.

"We are very much factoring in as part of the road map that actually schools will be staying open," Mr Williamson told the BBC.

"That is why we are taking a cautious approach because we intend for it to be an irreversible approach and that schools will continue to remain open."

He also gave a guarantee that schools would return after the Easter holidays.