SCHOOLS will have some room for flexibility – but the Welsh education minister has made her expectations clear on the approach to getting children back into the classroom.

Welsh Government continues to take a cautious approach out of the lockdown imposed on the country prior to the Christmas celebrations.

An announcement was made today [February 5] that ministers intend to get the nation’s youngest learners - aged between three and seven – back to having face-to-face learning after the February half term.

On Friday, Kirsty Williams MS told the Welsh Government’s press briefing that the Welsh people had helped create enough head room to allow these children back into the classroom – but caution must be taken that things don’t change too much and render that hard work meaningless.

She said: “Sadly, we are not yet in a position to be able to see a full return to school for every learner.

“However, thanks to people following our national guidance, there is sufficient headroom for us to bring back some of our learners in a phased, flexible and progressive way.”

The national approach was made clear but the minister has said there is room for local authorities to be able to adapt this depending on their own situations.

Ms Williams said: “I recognise that rates in Flintshire and Wrexham are indeed higher but, as the Minster, I have to make a national, all-Wales decision and that is that our expectation is that all foundation phase learners will return from the 22nd.

“But we also understand that schools may want to have some flexibility in organising their timetable for learners and they’ll be consulting with parents about the best way to do that. That is why we have built in some flexibility for local head teachers and local authorities to reflect on how best to do it for them.”

Adding to that point was Dr Chris Jones, the nation’s deputy chief medical officer [CMO].

He said: “The rates in North Wales were, for a period of time, high – we think because of the new variant became the dominant variant there first in Wales.

“The pleasing thing since the restrictions have been in place over the past seven weeks is that, even with the new variant being dominant, the rates have come down considerably. The difference between the worst and the best is much, much less and converging all the time.

“We still hope that the rates will come down and it seems quite possible, and we hope it will be the case, that they will still converge and the difference will not be so great as time goes on.”

In Wales, children of critical workers and vulnerable learners, those in special schools, as well as those taking assessments have been allowed to access classroom learning throughout the pandemic.

However, the minister shared her sympathies with parents and children alike who have been disrupted in all aspects of life due to the virus.

She said: “As we all know, you only get one childhood, which is exactly why we are all working so hard to support young people back into schools so they can learn with their friends.”