EDUCATION unions have called on the Welsh Government to go further and vaccinate teachers following the news that lessons would move online until at least January 18.

Kirsty Williams, education minister, yesterday revealed that the situation regarding coronavirus in Wales remains "very serious".

"As a government we will use the next two weeks to continue to work with local authorities, schools and colleges to plan for the rest of term," he said.

Schools and colleges will remain open for children of critical workers and vulnerable learners, as well as for learners who need to complete essential exams or assessments.

Before today's announcement, some schools in Wales were preparing to resume face-to-face learning as early as Wednesday.

However, headteachers union NAHT say that the Welsh government have not gone far enough, and that the vaccination of teachers is vital in ensuring the safe return of normality to the nation's education.

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Laura Doel, Director of NAHT Cymru, said: “The decision to close schools to gain control of Coronavirus has been inevitable for some time.

“The Welsh Government has repeatedly said it wants to prioritise education, in that case it must also prioritise safety in schools and the communities schools serve.

“Work should be undertaken with school leaders and Public Health Wales to establish and agree new Covid-related safety measures in schools during the temporary restriction for implementation in good time prior to lifting restrictions.

“There needs to focus on vaccinating staff so that further disruption to teaching and learning can be ruled out.

“It is uncertain whether the next two weeks will be enough time to ensure a fully risk-assessed plan is put in place to facilitate the safe return with a properly organised and resourced testing regime and priority vaccinations for staff, but I know that NAHT Cymru members stand ready to work with the government for the good of all children.”

The National Education Union (NEU) welcomed the move from the Welsh Government, but noted that both Scotland and now England had committed to closing schools for a longer period.

"We believe now is the time to be looking at measures such as vaccinating the education workforce," said Mary van den Heuvel, Senior Policy Officer.

"As educators, our members want to be in the classroom, working with children and young people to help them in their learning. But sadly we are not in that situation.”

Eithne Hughes, Director of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Cymru, said that the Welsh Government's decision had been a long time coming.

“We are not sure why it has taken the Welsh government so long to take this action when it was obvious that the plans in place for the start of term were not sufficient to tackle the scale of the escalating Covid crisis," she said.

"At least we now have a decision which makes sense and badly needed clarity for schools, colleges, pupils and parents."