As most pupils make their way back to school for the start of autumn term today, here’s what education secretary Gavin Williamson had to say on Covid vaccination, bubbles and outdoor lessons:

Covid and schools: Outdoor classes could go ahead

Speaking to BBC’s Radio 4‘s Today programme, Mr Williamson said the government wanted “minimal disruption” for pupils in the classroom.

He was asked four times about whether schools should use outdoor lessons or assemblies in the event of a Covid surge.

“It’s certainly not something we’d be expecting to see an awful lot of, especially in the autumn and winter, but this is why there’s a whole set of measures. There’s a whole set of measures that actually we would always ask schools to use ,working with public health,” he told presenter Nick Robinson.

Mr Robinson raised the fact that the possibility of outdoor classes appears in the Department for Education’s contingency framework several times.

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Also today: Retain social distancing to keep schools open, says WHO

How many schools have monitors?

Asked how many schools had carbon-dioxide monitors, Mr Williamson did not answer but said he expected “most schools to have exceptionally good ventilation but we’re providing this additional resource along with extra resources that we’ve been providing for schools in order for them to deliver education normally”.

He added that the “biggest game-changer” was that all adults have now been offered two Covid vaccination jabs. 

‘English schools had more pupils in than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’

On ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Mr Williamson was grilled about analysis published yesterday revealing that the UK had closed schools for longer than anywhere in Europe other than Italy over the past 18 months.

“As you will know, English schools have been having pupils in a lot more than Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland schools,” he said.

The government believes England can avoid a steep rise in coronavirus cases as schools return by using more effective Covid testing measures than in Scotland, The i has reported, by installing Covid-19 testing stations in schools, rather than allowing pupils to take lateral flow tests at home.

More pressure over vaccinations for children

Mr Williamson also heaped pressure on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to make a decision on vaccinating 12- to 15-year-olds “very, very soon”.

He told BBC One’s Breakfast: “I think parents would find it deeply reassuring to have a choice of whether their children should have a vaccine or not.

“We obviously wait for the decision of JCVI. Probably a lot of us are very keen to hear that and very much hope that we’re in a position of being able to roll out vaccinations for those who are under the age of 16.

“I would certainly be hoping that it is a decision that will be made very, very soon.”

He said he could not give a timeline for when the decision is expected because the JCVI is a “completely independent committee”, adding: “They’re not there to take instructions from the government.

“They will reach a decision, I’m told and I understand, very, very soon.”

And speaking to Sky News, he said: “We have got the capacity to be able to deliver vaccinations for children as well as to deliver a booster programme. It’s a situation about making sure that we combat this virus as best as possible.”

He also said: “Speaking as a parent myself, I think parents would find it incredibly reassuring to know that they had a choice as to whether their child would be vaccinated or not.

“And we are ready. If we get the get-go from JCVI, we are ready. The NHS, which has been so successful in rolling out this programme of vaccination, is ready to go into schools and deliver that vaccination programme for children.”