Tories criticised for failing to tackle Omicron earlier as Covid infections are still high
The government has told headteachers in England to start preparing for staff shortages by using support staff as fill-in teachers, combining classes or using hybrid learning, with some classes taught remotely and some face-to-face.
In an email sent to schools on Sunday, the Department for Education (DfE) advised them to deal with staff shortages by combining classes into larger groups.