The head of the official schools watchdog has said she hopes pupils will not need to use face masks in the classroom after Easter.
Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman, said children are “adaptable and flexible” around measures including mask-wearing and testing in schools, and “can live with a little bit of inconvenience for a few weeks”.
Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sky News, she said: “I think the overwhelming thing we’re seeing is the vast majority of parents, the vast majority of children and the vast majority of teachers are really happy to be going back to school.
“I really hope the whole paraphernalia of masks and testing is only necessary for a short time … I love the idea of children being able to come back in summer term able to see everybody fully.”
She added that current Ofsted monitoring visits have shown “the extraordinary efforts that schools have been putting into remote education”.
“It’s been a slog, it’s been a real slog. Children on the receiving end are bored, lonely, miserable, anxious and really, really want the normal experience again.”