The government is aiming to get children back to school for in person teaching from March 8, Dominic Raab said today.

Mr Raab, the foreign secretary, spoke today about the plans to lift lockdown restrictions.

He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: ‘You’re absolutely right, on March 8 we’re aiming to get schools back. The precise details – we need to make sure we set out once we’ve evaluated all of that evidence.

‘But the aim is to get schools reopening in a responsible way on the 8th.’

When pressed whether it would be all schools, he said: ‘I think we need to wait to evaluate the data carefully and allow those plans to be put in place.’

‘Then the PM on Monday week will be able to set out the full detail,’ he added.

‘But because we’re making progress, I think we’ll feel confident that we will be able to start that process of getting schools open on the 8th.

‘And of course, there will be other measures that the prime minister will want to set out, but it will be based on the evidence and the success we’ve had in terms of rolling out the vaccine and the impact that has had, not just in terms of reducing the number of cases but also reducing the pressure on the NHS.’

Raab insisted the prime minister will review all evidence on Feb 22 when he is expected to set out a ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown, including ‘the impact of lockdown, the impact of the vaccine, on the transmission rate, the number of people going into hospital with coronavirus.’

Meanwhile, children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield warned that potentially one in six pupils may never be able to catch up on lost time in school.

She supported proposals for summer schools and longer school days in order for pupils to catch up.

‘There needs to be a boost for children in terms of catch up in education terms in the classroom, potentially as well using some of those times in school holidays (and) the longer day,’ she told Sophy Ridge.

‘But part of that really needs to be as well about helping children to build back those social skills and that confidence.

‘There’s a group of children who won’t make up the time they’ve lost, these are the ones who started behind, who are struggling.

‘Potentially about one in six children if they don’t get that level of support and boost won’t ever catch up during their time at school.’

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