All schools and colleges in Wales will move to online learning until 18 January, the Welsh Government has announced.

 

Education minister Kirsty Williams said the change of plan is “the best way to ensure that parents, staff and learners can be confident in the return to face-to-face learning, based on the latest evidence and information.”

Schools and colleges will remain open for children of critical workers and vulnerable learners, as well as for learners who need to complete essential exams or assessments.

Before today’s announcement, some schools in Wales were preparing to resume face-to-face learning as early as Wednesday.

This was in line with the Welsh Government’s initial plan to allow them to choose when to reopen, ahead of an expected full return by 18 January

But education unions called for a rethink of the plan due to safety concerns after it was announced the Covid-19 variant spreading across Wales was 70 per cent more transmissible.

 Kirsty Williams said: “We will use the next two weeks to continue to work with local authorities, schools and colleges to best plan for the rest of term.

“We had already ensured that schools had full flexibility in the first two weeks of term to decide when to reopen based on local circumstances.

“But it is now clear that a national approach of online learning for the next fortnight is the best way to contribute to reducing the transmission of coronavirus.

“We know that schools and colleges have been safe and secure environments throughout the pandemic and that continues to be the case.

“However, we also know that education settings being open can contribute to wider social mixing outside the school and college environment.

“We are confident that schools and colleges have online learning provision in place for this immediate period, and this will also be important in ensuring that students are at home during this time, learning and staying safe.”

Ms Williams said the decision was made jointly with the WLGA – the organisation representing Welsh councils – and further education body Colegau Cymru.