The chairman of the Commons Education Select Committee has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to consider tougher lockdown restrictions on the economy in order to allow schools to reopen. Conservative MP Robert Halfon said that it was imperative that students get back into the classroom as soon as possible. 

The Prime Minister has said that teachers and parents will be kept in the loop as to the government's plans and be told “as much as we can as soon as we can”, while Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is expected to confirm this week that there will be no return to school following the February half-term break.

Speaking to Premier, Lizzie Harewood from the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) said that teachers and students "just want clarity about the way forward".

She said: "There's enormous pressures on parents...a lot of them are homeschooling or trying to work part-time around supporting their children's learning. I know first-hand the amount of stress that places on you...it can create a real sense of frustration."

Harewood also noted her concern at children becoming "isolated and withdrawn" as a result of being educated from home and "welcomed" Robert Halfon's "demand for a route map out of this". 

"I think teachers and students just want clarity about the way forward," she explained "All teachers would like to be back in the classroom safely as soon as possible. And I think an assessment of whether school staff should be moved up the priority list of vaccinations...I think that is something that ACT as an organization really does welcome." 

Harewood asked people to pray for the nation's teachers at this challenging time. 

"Many of them are worried about children who perhaps aren't getting the support for whatever reason at home," she said. "Please pray for teachers, that they would know how to support those kids. And please do pray as well for teachers to be able to remain calm and collected and godly in the way they respond to often very politicised arguments."