Wales and Scotland to shut schools by the end of this week as Boris Johnson says decision on England will be taken ‘imminently’ amid coronavirus crisis
- All schools in Wales will close early for Easter by Friday this week at the latest
- Nicola Sturgeon announced schools and nurseries and Scotland will also close
- Boris Johnson said decision on English schools will be taken ‘imminently
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Schools in Wales and Scotland will close by the end of this week while a decision on whether to do the same in England will be taken ‘imminently’ amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak.
The Welsh government announced today that all schools will close for an early Easter break by Friday at the latest.
Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, said her country will be doing the same due to the diseases impact on staff numbers.
No announcement has been made on schools in England but Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested at lunchtime that some sort of action will be taken in the very near future.
The PM said the government would act to ‘square the circle’ of making sure the spread of the virus is slowed while also ensuring there is not an adverse impact on NHS capacity.
Senior figures in the government fear that a blanket closure of schools would adversely affect the health service because key workers could be forced off work to look after children.
Nicola Sturgeon today announced that schools in Scotland will close on Friday because of the coronavirus outbreak
Boris Johnson said decisions on continuing education provision in England would be taken ‘imminently’
Minister for Education in the devolved Welsh government Kirsty Williams announced this afternoon that closures in Wales will now go ahead.
She said: ‘Today, I can announce we are bringing forward the Easter break for schools in Wales.
‘Schools across Wales will close for statutory provision of education at the latest on 20 March 2020.
‘I have been clear up to now that the continuity of education and the wellbeing of our learners has been at the heart of my decision making. This will always be the case.
‘From next week, schools will have a new purpose. They will help support those most in need, including people involved in the immediate response to the coronavirus outbreak. I am working with my colleagues in the Cabinet, with government officials and our partners in local government to develop and finalise these plans.’
She said those plans would focus on ‘supporting and safeguarding the vulnerable and ensuring continuity of learning’.
Ms Williams said that ‘childcare settings are expected to remain open until we have definitive advice from the Chief Medical Officer and from Public Health Wales that any closures are required’.
Ms Sturgeon said schools in Scotland had now lost too many staff through self-isolation to continue functioning as normal.
She said she wanted to reassure teachers and school staff that the government would work with them to figure out what is best for children.
She also said the Scottish government was still working out the finer detail of what the measures will mean for parents and children going forward.
Mr Johnson told PMQs in the House of Commons at lunchtime that decisions on education provision in England will be taken ‘imminently’.
He said: ‘We will do everything we can to remove burdens on schools and Ofsted is one in particular we can address.
‘The House should expect further decisions to be taken imminently on schools and how to make sure we square the circle both of making sure we stop the spread of the disease but also making sure we relieve, as much as we can, pressure on our NHS.’