North East schools make preparations for remote learning

Schools and local authorities in Teesside are making preparations for a return to remote learning as the Government deliberates further Covid restrictions.

Boris Johnson has said the Government will “reserve the possibility” of implementing new restrictions amid the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

It is unclear what such restrictions may entail, but online learning provisions have been a staple of previous lockdowns.

Helen Steele, Principal at Caldicotes Primary Academy on Teesside, expects children to return to school in January but is preparing for the worst.

"Our hope, and current expectation, is that our students will return to the classroom after the Christmas break," said a spokesperson for Outwood Grange Academies Trust in Middlesbrough.

"However, we want to reassure all parents that should this not be the case we are more than prepared to support our students fully with their education.

Middlesbrough Council has said schools will be prepared for any increase in Covid in January while Stockton Council said that it was up to individual schools to decide whether they were going to switch to remote learning.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said that in the absence of any official guidance on schools, they are at present expecting to return as normal in January.