IT will not be possible for children to return to schools immediately after the February half-term, the Prime Minister said, instead looking to March.

Boris Johnson said he hoped it would be safe to begin the reopening of England’s schools from March 8 and confirmed pupils eligible for food parcels or vouchers will receive these until they return to school.

Mr Johnson told the Commons: “The first sign of normality beginning to return should be pupils going back to their classrooms. I know how parents and teachers need as much certainty as possible including two weeks’ notice of the return of face-to-face teaching.

“So I must inform the House that for the reasons I have outlined it will not be possible to reopen schools immediately after the February half-term. But I know how frustrating that will be for pupils and teachers who want nothing more than to get back to the classroom.

“And for parents and for carers who spent so many months juggling their day jobs, not only with home schooling but meeting the myriad other demands of their children from breakfast until bedtime.”

He said meeting the country's vaccination target is key in reopening schools. 

Boris Johnson told the Commons: “If we achieve our target of vaccinating everyone in the four most vulnerable groups with their first dose by February 15, and every passing day sees more progress towards that goal, then those groups (will) have developed immunity from the virus about three-weeks later, that is by March 8.

“We hope it will therefore be safe to begin the reopening of schools from Monday, March 8.

“With other economic and social restrictions being removed thereafter as and when the data permits… then or thereafter I should say.”

Mr Johnson also said the Government will provide free school meals to eligible children and a “programme of catch-up” would be put in place for pupils as well as summer schools.

He said: “As we are extending the period of remote learning beyond the middle of February I can confirm that the Government will prolong arrangements for providing free school meals with those eligible children not in school including food parcels and the national voucher scheme until they have returned to school.”

“We will provide a programme of catch-up over the next financial year and this will involve a further £300 million of new money for schools for tutoring.

“And we will work in collaboration with the education sector to develop specific initiatives for summer schools and the Covid premium to support catch-up.”

Shadow education secretary Wes Streeting criticised the MP, tweeting: “‘Schools are safe’, the Prime Minister says, but also that they are ‘vectors of transmission’ in the next breath.

“Nothing new on school safety measures. No sign of a plan to make schools as safe as possible, as soon as possible. Nothing new to help kids learning during lockdown.”

A total of 6,665,861 Covid-19 vaccinations had taken place in England between December 8 and January 26, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 260,307 on the previous day’s figures.

Of this number, 6,221,850 were the first dose of the vaccine, a rise of 259,306 on the previous day’s figures, while 444,011 were the second dose, an increase of 1,001.