The government is “confident” that teachers will be safe in schools if they reopen from 1 June, former education secretary Michael Gove has said.

Asked if he can guarantee the safety of staff and pupils when they return, Mr Gove said, while it is not possible to “eliminate risk”, it is “extremely unlikely” that any school will be the source of a Covid-19 outbreak.

“We know that school settings are not the source of infection that some have feared; we know that they can be made safe and appropriate working places,” he said.

Coronavirus: Fresh defiance over schools reopening on 1 June

Exclusive: Schools to defy DfE over pupil rotas

School openings: Teachers demand more evidence

Mr Gove added that the “clear scientific and clinical advice” is that it is safe to have schools reopen with social distancing measures in place. However, this may mean children are required to sit at desks “in a way which might seem rather more traditional”.

He was speaking in the same week that the chief scientific adviser to the Department for Education said there was a “low degree of confidence” that children transmit Covid-19 less than adults.

Coronavirus: Safety fears about reopening schools

Osama Rahman also said he had not assessed how effectively school reopening plans could be implemented and did not know if the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) had provided advice on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in schools.

Speaking on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show this morning, Mr Gove said: “Teachers will be safe in schools. The programme that’s been outlined is a staged and careful return with children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 of primary coming back to school, we hope, on the week beginning 1 June.

“And it is the case that some of the best leaders in current education have said that it is absolutely safe for children to return; absolutely safe for teachers and other staff to return as well.”

Asked if he can guarantee that teachers will be safe, given that the UK’s leading body of doctors has raised concerns over schools reopening, Mr Gove said: “Yes...I talked to the chief scientific adviser yesterday for the government, Patrick Vallance, and running through the figures - the R number, the rate of infection in the community overall - we are confident that children and teachers will be safe.”

However, when challenged on whether he could truly guarantee this, Mr Gove said: “The key thing is that we can make these workplaces safe. 

“You can never eliminate risk, but as we know - as we’ve heard - it is the case that it is extremely unlikely that any school is likely to be the source of a Covid outbreak. And if for any reason there are risks, then we can take steps to mitigate them.”

My Gove said that, in order to keep schools safe, children “will have to be distanced now, sitting at desks in a way which might seem rather more traditional”.

He added that social distancing could be enforced by having “staggered” breaks for lunch and play, as well as drop-off times; and making sure there is always one adult per class, and class sizes are capped at 15.

“The reason why we are only bringing back Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 first is to ensure that we do have that space and that flexibility, and then we hope to be able to bring back more primary school children after that,” he said.

Asked what he would say to councils that are refusing to reopen schools from 1 June, Mr Gove said: “I respectfully ask them to think again; to broaden the range of scientific advice that they look at.

“I know that the BMA [British Medical Association] has the best interests of its members at heart, but actually the clear scientific and clinical advice is that it is safe to have schools reopen, accompanied with social distancing.

“The other thing that I would say, in particular, is children only have one chance at education.

“Over the course of the last decade, we have made significant strides in closing the gap between the richest and the poorest in our schools. This lockdown has put that backwards.

“If you really care about children, you will want them to be in school; you will want them to be learning; you will want them to have new opportunities. So look to your responsibilities.”

Asked if he sees an anti-government agenda from the unions in this debate, Mr Gove said: “No. I think the unions, entirely understandably, want to look after their members and they are being cautious.

“But I would encourage them to think about the future of the children, who are all our first concern.

“And I would urge them also to look at the science, and to listen to the scientists...to look at foreign examples, and to say, ‘Look, if progressive countries like Denmark can be teaching children and have them back in schools, so should we.’”

He added: “The whole point about being a teacher is that you love your job - it’s a mission, a vocation to be able to excite young minds. So teachers want to be in the classroom. They also want it to be safe.

“We can keep them safe and we can get them doing the job they love.”