Contingency plans are being drawn up by the Department for Education in case the government’s “clear intention” to have all school pupils back in September isn’t possible, schools minister Nick Gibb said this morning.

Speaking on Sky News following the government’s announcement of a £1 billion Covid-19 catch-up plan for pupils, Mr Gibb said that “nothing beats children being back in the classroom”.

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“We’re led, of course, by the science and the medical advice,” he said. “There are over a million children now in our schools and we are taking every step in a cautious way.

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“We are working with the school sector. We’re taking advice and we give schools plenty of notice in time to plan for that reopening in September.

“Of course, we’re working on other contingency plans, but the clear intention is that we’ll have all children back in school in September.”