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The Prime Minister said it was “morally indefensible” to keep classrooms closed for any longer than absolutely necessary. But he is set for resistance from the National Education Union (NEU) under hard-left general secretary Mary Bousted. A list of 200 so-called safety demands that must be met before schools reopen has been drawn up by the powerful union. It includes calls for teachers to have more relaxed dress codes, help for staff with anxiety and two weeks of paid holiday or home-working for teachers hit by quarantine restrictions. The guidance suggested teachers should “escalate” their action if schools fail to satisfy the conditions.

Jerry Glazier, who sits on the NEU’s executive, insisted the union wants all schools to go back next month.

“Provided schools follow rigorous procedures in terms of ensuring they are safe places and they can demonstrate that to the staff, to the kids and to the parents, we don’t see a problem about all schools going back in September,” he said.

Asked about claims Ms Bousted had urged schools to ignore “threatening noises” from the Government and refuse to reopen if they feel it is unsafe, he insisted it was a “private conversation that may have been taken out of context”.

Scientific advisers have warned that “trade-offs” such as closing pubs and restaurants down may be needed to allow schools to open without a coronavirus spike.

The PM is prepared to close businesses first to keep classrooms open for as long as possible in local lockdowns.

Mr Johnson said: “Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than is absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible.”

He insisted returning children to school in September is the “national priority”.

“This pandemic isn’t over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent,” he wrote in a Sunday newspaper.

“But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so.”

He warned of the “spiralling economic costs” of parents and carers being unable to work and said the life chances of children are being hit.

Schools shutdown to most pupils in March with just years one, six, 10 and 12 allowed back for some lessons before the summer break.

A-level results this week will be based partly on teacher assessment after exams were cancelled.

MPs have raised concerns that the poorest pupils are suffering the most as they may not have the technology or support at home needed to help them learn away from the classroom.

Experts say there are no confirmed cases anywhere in the world of a pupil passing coronavirus to a teacher.

Children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield called for teachers to be tested for Covid 19 every week to help schools reopen fully.

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“I think it needs to be as regular as it needs to be, to ensure that the infection is caught and identified as quickly as possible and then the tracking system can move on from that,” she told Times Radio.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb dismissed the calls for weekly testing, insisting people with symptoms remained the priority.

But he said headteachers could tell staff to wear masks when they return to the classroom.

“These kinds of issues will be up to the headteachers,” he said. “But there is no need for mask-wearing within the school, provided that the hierarchy of controls…are in place in schools. 

“When pupils start arriving back in September they’ll have lessons about how to maintain safety within the school, so that schools will be a safe place for children and for adults within that environment.”

Shadow education secretary Kate Green said it was “essential” that schools open in September but would not say if it is safe to return.

She said: “The work is being done to make schools safe but more is needed to support those schools, they may need extra resources for example for extra clearing or to stagger the school day or to make sure children can travel to and fro safely.”

Amanda Milling, Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “Once again, Labour refuse to take a stance and back our plans to get kids back to school in September. 

“Sir Keir Starmer won’t stand up to the unions, won’t take a position and shows more interest in playing politics than in our children’s wellbeing.

“We have a detailed plan for getting all children back to school in a way that is safe for them and their teachers – it’s time for Labour to come off the fence and work with us to ensure the life chances of a generation of schoolchildren – particularly the most disadvantaged – are not lost to coronavirus.”

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