Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told MPs that they “should expect further decisions to be taken imminently on schools,” in response to the coronavirus.

He told MPs that the government wanted to square the circle between stopping the spread of the disease and relieving pressure on the NHS.

The government is expected to make a statement at 5pm today.  

Shadow education secretar Angela Rayner said this is expected to be about school closures.

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Mr Johnson also described Ofsted as a burden which the government had removed from schools and paid tributes to teachers and school staff for their work to keep schools running during the crisis.

He was responding to a question from former education secretary Damian Hinds who welcomed the decision to halt routine Ofsted inspections and invited the Prime Minister in joining him in commending schools, leaders and teachers for “all they have been doing to support families through this crisis.”

Mr Johnson said: “I want to pay a particular tribute not just of course to our amazing NHS but also to our teachers and everybody who works in our schools for everything that they have done to keep our schools going throughout this difficult crisis so far.

“Of course we will do everything we can to remove burdens on schools and Ofsted is one in particular that we can address and the House should expect further decisions to be taken imminently on schools on how to make sure we square the circle of making sure we stop the spread of the disease but also making sure we relieve, as much as we can, pressure on the NHS.”

Posting on social media Ms Rayner said: “Schools in Scotland and Wales closing by end of the week.

“We are expecting a statement in the commons today around 5pm on the situation regarding school closures in England.”