Schools will be allowed to shut a day early for Christmas, says Tory minister

mirror.co.uk:

Schools will be able to shut a day early for Christmas to give staff a break from dealing with potential coronavirus cases, the schools minister has said.

Nick Gibb told MPs that heads would be able to hold inset days at the end of term to ensure a “clear six days” before Christmas Eve.

Schools have been demanding freedom to move to remote learning early if necessary, to reduce the risk of pupils and staff having to self-isolate over Christmas - and the burden on teachers to do contact tracing over the holidays.

Up to 650,000 state school pupils missed school on December 3 due to coronavirus - between 7% and 8% of pupils - according to the latest Department for Education figures.