CHILDREN in Wales will return to school in 2022 later than expected with the potential of remote learning making a comeback.

Before the end of the last school term, the Welsh Government announced a two-day delay in children returning to school to allow staff to prepare and plan for the potential disruption of Covid-19 and the Omicron variant.

This means that – although initially schools in Gwent were set to return on Tuesday January 4 – children in the city will instead return to their studies on Thursday, January 6.

According to Welsh Government: “All learners [in Wales] will return to onsite provision by Monday, January 10, at the latest.”

These two days will give staff at the schools the opportunity to assess the Covid-19 situation and plan for the term ahead. Due to this, it’s impossible to know at this point whether schools will return to remote learning or face-to-face teaching.

A letter sent out by schools ahead of the Christmas holidays stated that the additional inset days are “to prepare for potential disruption to learning and teaching.”

The letter continued: “These days will give the school time extra time to assess staffing capacity, reconsider risk assessments and mitigations and put any necessary measures in place to support the return of learners.”

The Welsh Government's minister for education and the Welsh language Jeremy Miles has suggested that face coverings will be used within schools. This means that all staff and high school pupils will be expected to wear face coverings in communal areas and classrooms where social distancing is not possible.

Should schools return to face-to-face learning staff and high school pupils will be expected to take lateral flow tests three times a week.

If pupils test positive for Covid they must self-isolate, but Welsh Government has said children with colds can go to school – as long as nobody in their household has tested positive for Covid-19 or is showing the main symptoms of the infection (a new continuous cough, high temperature, and loss or change in sense of smell or taste).

More guidance on the return of pupils to school is expected in the new year.