Another Christmas holiday looms, another Covid variant and more scary headlines seem to be surrounding us at the moment. The education minister was interviewed at the weekend and he couldn’t rule out school closures in the new year. This week, the last week of term, secondary schools have gone back to mask wearing in classrooms and Ofsted have stopped in person inspections.

Whatever you think of lockdowns, vaccines and Covid in general, no one can deny the impact it’s had on our children, regardless of whether they are skware pegs or not. Covid is in our schools, and I have friends who have caught Covid from their children, who in turn caught it at school. Ideally, windows would be open with improved ventilation, but it’s winter and it isn’t that easy.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I really, really hope that cases do whatever they need to do to stop any closures or measures being implemented. I don’t want our children at risk of Covid, but I also don’t want their learning and mental health to be affected any more than it has been already.

I really hope that the booster vaccinations help with hospitalisations, and that the new variant doesn’t put more pressure on the NHS. I hope that people wear masks and are careful as they celebrate over the Christmas period, doing regular lateral flow tests and keeping themselves and others safe – but I hope people do find a way to celebrate.

But most of all, I really, really hope that all of our children are back at school after Christmas and that everything that is needed is put in place to keep them, and all the staff in schools safe.