Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who fears the lockdown will not have the same impact on lowering transmission of the virus if schools remain open.
But there are many leaders, teachers and parents who feel keeping schools open is vital for children, not only for their education, but their physical and mental wellbeing too.And they have the full support of England's Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield, who has welcomed the government's decision to keep schools open and says 'there is clear scientific evidence about the wide-ranging benefits', not least to those vulnerable children whose isolation and risk was heightened by the first lockdown.But what is it like for those working in schools at the moment?