Wales aims to get pupils back into schools ahead of other UK nations - and primary school children could return straight after half-term, first minister Mark Drakeford has said.

The Labour leader of the Welsh government said a phased return to the classroom, starting with primary schools, could begin if Covid cases continue to fall.

Wales currently has a rate of 170 cases per 100,000 of its population, down from 270 per 100,000 last Friday, while the country’s R [Covid reproduction] number is estimated to be around 0.7, meaning the virus is on the decline.

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Mr Drakeford said today that, following a three-week review, it is still too early to relax lockdown restrictions that have been in place since 20 December, despite the promising figures.

But he said he will look to reopen schools in February, with the youngest pupils being prioritised if case numbers continue to fall.

His announcement comes after UK prime minister Boris Johnson said the government hoped to be able to reopen schools more widely in England from 8 March.

Mr Drakeford said today that he understood the “anxieties” that school staff have about students returning to face-to-face teaching in Wales.

“We will do everything we can in the week ahead to work with the teacher unions and other staff who work in schools to put whatever we can in place to make sure that that workplace is as safe as it can be,” he said.

“It’s partly why we talked today about starting with the very youngest children - children who are the least likely to suffer from coronavirus or to spread it to other people.”

Mr Drakeford told a press briefing: “Getting young people back into school and college for face-to-face learning is our priority.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the headroom to do this yet. As soon as we do, we want schools and colleges to begin to reopen.

“If infections continue to fall, we want children to be able to return to school after half-term from 22 February, starting with the youngest children in our primary schools.”

Asked why this is earlier than in England and Northern Ireland, Mr Drakeford told BBC One’s Breakfast: “Because the context is different. Today we have 175 people in Wales for every 100,000 contracting coronavirus.

“In England a couple of days ago the average was 350, and our 170 figure is falling every day, so you can see the context is very different.

Coronavirus: Reopening schools ‘a top priority in Wales’

“We want to take advantage of that. Our children and young people have had a torrid time over the last 12 months. They are missing out on education every week.”

Mr Drakeford said the Welsh government is working with local education authorities, teaching unions and the children’s commissioner to return young people to face-to-face learning “as soon as it is safe to do so”.

“Provided the next three weeks see further falls, we think we can do that straight after half-term. That’s what we’ll be working on together,” he said.

The country’s Covid incidence rate, test positivity rate and the number of people in hospitals and in critical care will all be taken into account before a decision is made on reopening schools, he said, describing it as “the top priority for us here in Wales”.

Mr Drakeford said teachers will only be prioritised for a vaccine if the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) changes its advice.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We follow the advice of the JCVI. If the committee tell us to prioritise teachers, that is what we will do.

“While its advice remains that the top nine priority groups should be the focus of our attention, that is what we will do.

“If the advice were to change, then we would follow the changed advice.”

Earlier on Friday, Mr Drakeford said Level 4 restrictions will remain in place in Wales for another three weeks in order to “allow the NHS to recover” from the surge in cases over Christmas.