standing firm on plans to re—open schools in england next month — the government says decisions are being made based on the best scientific advice. the education secretary acknowledged some parents and teachers' had anxiety — but said the longer children were out of school the more damaging it would be. the best way of protecting children, the best way of giving them the best

opportunities in life, is actually to have them coming back into school. out of 28 children in my class we have had ten responses saying they will send their children but even those parents have reservations and they have queries they would like answered before they make that choice. we'll look at the science around the impact of coronavirus on children and those they are in contact with. also tonight... people heed warnings not to overwhelm beaches, beauty spots and parks on the first weekend after lockdown rules in england eased. more space for pedestrians and cyclists — could social distancing permanently change the way we travel? and football — but not as we know it — germany's bundesliga becomes the first major european league to restart.

good evening. the education secretary gavin williamson says the governent‘s approach to re—opening schools in england will be cautious — and based on scientific advice — but he warned that the longer schools are closed, the more children will miss out. it comes after teaching unions expressed concerns over plans for some pupils to return to schools in england from the 1st ofjune. a further 468 deaths of people who tested positive for coronavirus in the uk were reported in the past 2a hours, taking the official death toll to 34,466. here's our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. classrooms empty now in england, but in two weeks' time a few children are due to return. some teachers and parents remain fearful. today, the government said

it was the right decision. there are some who would like to delay the wider opening of schools. school governors will be involved in the plans so i asked how they should weigh it up. they are going to be thinking about their legal responsibilities in terms of making each school safe. how are they meant to reconcile that conflicting advice they're getting from you and from local councils? what we would ask them to do is look at the guidance very carefully, and recognise the fact that we are there to provide the very best for every single child who goes to that school. the best way of doing that, the best way of protecting children, the best way of giving them the best opportunities in life, is actually to have them coming back into school. schools are getting ready as best they can, changing classrooms, contacting families.

parents will choose whether to send their children and some think it is time to start going back. i'm not waving a flag and saying, let's go back to school with 30 children in a class and have a normal school day. i think there needs to be some kind of schooling in terms of some kind of non—physical contact at school. ministers point to denmark where children began their return a month ago, but today teachers' unions here raised concerns, too many cases, too little testing, among their five priorities. we really want to get schools back open again as soon as it's safe to do so. we have five simple tests that the british medical association on friday told us they agreed with our tests, and we think the government hasn't yet met them, but they are not obstructive tests. they are tests to encourage the government to meet them so that we can get back to school, but we are not there yet, though. the gradual return to school remains a hope.

the scientific evidence remains under review. a finaljudgment in england at the end of the month, as schools in the rest of the uk remain closed. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. ministers insist they will be led by the science when making decisions — so what does the science say about how children are affected? lauren moss explains. we've only known about covid—19 for under six months, and the science community is still learning about it. one of the big questions to answer is how are children affected. put simply, children seem to catch coronavirus as much as anyone else. the survey by the office for national statistics, published this week, suggests that one in 400 people in england has coronavirus and it also found that children are just as likely to test positive as adults, but they don't appear to develop symptoms which are as serious or be as vulnerable to it.

more than 24,000 people have died in hospitals in england from covid—19, 12 were under the age of 19, most had underlying health conditions. we know from the current information that children have fewer symptoms and appear to have different transmission dynamics to adults, and it looks like they probably have shorter or fewer viral excretions from coughing or speaking, but we can't be sure for a certain and we certainly need more research in the area. so, if children catch coronavirus, how likely is it, then, that they can carry it and also spread it? any increase in social mixing could lead to an increase in the r number, the rates of transmission. children are super spreaders of other diseases like flu, but we just don't know how infectious they could be if they have little or no symptoms. there is the possibility, although it seems slight, that children might transmit it to other children or to staff members, but again what evidence we have suggests it doesn't happen very much, but opening schools does

mean we have a social hub which is where teachers will meet other teachers and other parents so there will be increased mixing and there could be some spreading as a result of that. it's early days as we begin to take steps to emerge from the lockdown. what we learn in the weeks and months ahead will shape what our new normal becomes. lauren moss, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is here. the prime minister is trying to address some of these concerns including schools we opening and also the wider worries around the easing of lockdown. yes, school is reopening its one part of a painstaking process to government is involved with, trying to ease the restrictions put in place in england safely and boris johnson says restrictions put in place in england safely and borisjohnson says he understands the frustrations of people, writing in the mail on sunday he says we are trying to do something which has never had to be done before, leaving the country out ofa done before, leaving the country out of a full lockdown which is away —— which is in a safe way, and he

realises this is more complex than just asking people to stay at home, which was the message before, but this is a complex problem. the one thing to solve the problem is a development of a successful vaccine against coronavirus and the prime minister claims the uk is leading the global effort in those attempts. he has announced the speeding up of the opening up of a new manufacturing and innovation centre which would make and distribute a vaccine in the uk if one was developed, but that remains a big if, as the prime minister himself says, you must be frank, he says, a vaccine might not come to fruition, and he reminds us that we may need to live with the virus for some time to live with the virus for some time to come, in another reality check. jonathan, thanks for joining to come, in another reality check. jonathan, thanks forjoining us. it's the first weekend since some lockdown restrictions were eased in england. local councils urged people today to stay away from beauty spots and beaches — and although some national parks have reported areas being busy, many people do seem to have heeded the warning, as andy gill reports.

in normal times, more than 3 million day visitors come to the yorkshire dales every year, and it's not hard to see why. the national park and local authorities, though, think it is too early to loosen the coronavirus lockdown. the big fear was that the car park would be full all week, and the river bank was going to be like blackpool when blackpool was busy and open, nobody social distancing... but, as it is, we have a slow increase in the amount of people coming, that feel safe to come. in grassington today, some people were taking advantage of the new guidelines, some travelling from harrogate and leeds. if you follow the guidance and you socially distance, you make sure that you're not touching anything. we've not seen anybody, really, but everyone we have seen has been a friendly and kept to a safe distance. we feel fine.

they reopened the car park here so visitors don't park in the centre of the village or on verges, and the idea is that that will reduce contact and possible infections between tourists and locals. tourism is vitalfor this part of yorkshire, and they do want visitors back here once it is safe. 0ne estimate is that the economy in this part of the dales has taken a 30% hit because of the lockdown. striking the balance between saving lives and saving livelihoods is the challenge here as everywhere else. andy gill, the yorkshire dales, bbc news. the number of life saving transplant operations in the uk dropped by almost ninety percent after lockdown — and operations using living donors stopped completely. transplant specialists say lives will be lost as a result. 0ur reporter alexandra mackenzie has been to the royal hospital for children in glasgow.

16—year—old zac had kidney failure and was on dialysis, but now he is recovering from his transplant operation. we were waiting for two and a half years and then i finally got the news, i was so relieved. it actually happened. what was life like before you got the transplant? it was really hard. i couldn't eat a lot of food, like chocolate, crisps, bananas, and i couldn't go out with friends either, because i had a central line in, so in case that got damaged. did you think twice about it because of covid—i9? yeah, i did, i was really scared about covid—i9. when i got the transplant, i was worried about it, cos if i'd got it, it would have been really bad for me. for zak‘s mum, she hopes this is a second chance at life. i still can't believe it, when i look at him and i look at how

healthy he actually looks now, his colour and complexion, he was very pale before, but now he has colour in his cheeks. he's got a sparkle in his eyes, which he'd lost. in the uk at the beginning of march, there were around 80 transplant operations every week, but in april this fell to around ten. now it's increased again to 47. we had scheduled transplants which have been cancelled and small children who are on dialysis are at risk of becoming significant problems the longer they are on dialysis for. delaying the transplant has to be done when it has to be done, but these children will get more complications the longer their transplant is delayed for. adult patients on dialysis are at significant risk of covid—i9, and the rate of death in those patients

is above that in the general population. covid—i9 has also brought challenges to the ward. we've dealt with things we have not really dealt with in the past, even wearing a mask in the room... zak knows who is under the mask because he knows us pretty well, but even that, that is a different thing for them all to cope with. the teenager, who is even leading a poster campaign, is eager to start his new life. i'm very grateful to everyone who has helped me throughout this whole time, the nurses and doctors and my family, especially my mother, because she has been here for me. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, glasgow. this week, towns and cities across the uk have implemented measures to encourage walking and cycling. the temporary changes are aimed at reducing use of public transport and cars. but as we emerge from lockdown they could signal a permanent shift in the way we travel, as our chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt reports. deansgate, the main road through manchester, is changing.

today, barriers and trees closed a key stretch to traffic. elsewhere, new walkways and pop—up bike lanes are appearing. we want to see change across the city, we want people to walk and cycle more, but we want to do that in a safe way. and it isn'tjust manchester. this week pop—up cycle lanes opened in glasgow, leicester, york and brighton, and dozens more towns and cities have similar plans. london is closing some of its busiest streets to create what it claims will be the largest car—free area in any city in the world. most of these measures are presented as temporary, providing social—distancing space. but often the aim is to make them permanent which is why some motorists are describing this as a one—off land grab, conducted under the cover of covid and designed to create

new facts on the ground. what's worrying about this is that it feels anti—motorist, anti—cars, anti—lorries, anti—vans, and yet all those methods of transport are essential for economic recovery, and for the things that we need in britain, so don't punish one group at the expense of the other. commentator: boardman is going to blow the world record out of the stadium! 0lympic gold—winning cyclist chris boardman says making these changes in our cities is about more than just finding new ways to get to work. we've stopped talking about the climate crisis and pollution and dirty air, but all of those crises are still here, and if you really want to protect the nhs, as well as clapping for them, we can actually make ourselves a healthier nation. people certainly seem to be voting with their feet and their wheels. ken foster says his bike shop in manchester is the busiest it's been since his grandad opened it almost 70 years ago. ken, what about when it's raining? there's no such thing as bad weather.

0nly inappropriate clothing! you won't be surprised to hear that ken thinks it's time we all should get on our bikes. justin rowlatt, bbc news, manchester. italy is to reopen to international visitors again onjune 3rd — it will also scrap 14 day quarantine requirements for visitors arriving. from monday restaurants, bars and hairdressers can also trade once again. italy recorded its lowest coronavirus death toll today — at 153 — since march 9th. the italian prime minister said he was taking a calculated risk in rolling back the measures. discussions over when and whether professional football can resume in the uk have continued this week but today germany's bundesliga became the first major european league to restart. with empty stadiums, and some social distancing protocols in place, it was anything but an ordinary

saturday of match action, as jenny hill reports. theirs is a passion that endures. fans who'd follow their team anywhere must make do now with watching from a distance. "two hearts beat inside me", sabina tells us. "of course, as a dortmund supporter, i'm glad it's back but it doesn't feel right like this." commentator: no fans, then at the signal iduna park... they call them ghost games. no crowd to roar victory, lament defeat. an odd prospect for the players, who quarantined for a week before the match. off—pitch, strict social distancing. it's two months since they last played. that doesn't seem to have thrown dortmund off their stride. the advantage played by aytekin. and this might finish it! what a counterattack, what a strike. dortmund just scored, and you could

hear a pin drop out here. it's hard to believe a top—flight game of football is going on inside that stadium. the german football league admit this is largely about money. they feared smaller clubs would go out of business if they didn't resume matches. for this footballing nation, a strange day. polls suggest the majority of germans think it's too soon to play again. some league players and staff have already tested positive. even as dortmund celebrated in the new style today, there is no guarantee that this season will run its course. jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund. that's all from me. goodnight.

hello. this is bbc news with martine croxall. as we've been hearing the government has defended its plan to reopen schools in england next month, and warned that the longer they are closed, the more children will miss out. primary children in denmark have been back at school for a month now. it was the first country in europe to reopen its primary schools, after containing the virus early on. earlier i spoke to metta rose nielsen, a primary school teacher on the outskirts of copenhagen. she told me staff and pupils had adapted well. there is the dilemma, the fact that you have to allow children to be children. we have had to structure a lot of things in the schools under a great deal of logistics to make it work. and also to be very aware of the children's well—being. and one

of the things that we do to structure the day for the children, to prevent them being too close together, prevent the transmission, of the disease, if there is any, is, for example, to divide the children into little groups of ten children. and then we have kind of this bubble where the children play with the children in their group, and we have also asked the parents to make playgroups for children when they are at home in the same groups. how difficult is it to get young children to understand the need to keep apart? well, i teach first grade, and in denmark the children are about seven 01’ grade, and in denmark the children are about seven or eight years old. i think the parents have prepared the children very well. from the health authorities, they also had a video showing them how to wash their hands. i think the children have

done pretty well, compared to their age. it is difficult for children. they want to play football and hug each other. and if a child is crying 01’ each other. and if a child is crying or they are nervous, they also need a hug. you have to give them that. there is always the balance between district lines and the common sense you have to exhibit. very difficult to override those instincts. what are the benefits of this, if there are the benefits of this, if there are any at all? when we have the children in small groups, what we have seen is that some of the children blossom very much from this. in smaller groups, some of the children feel more safe. i have seen children feel more safe. i have seen children play different types of games to what they are used to, and be more active, for example, in

breaks. and the other thing is that you can be more... you can be more concerned with one child at a time in the classroom, because there are not so many children to attend to. so it's easier to help each child. and you can also do more creative work with the children. and we have done a lot of outdoor teaching, where we have had good cooperation with the local youth school. we have been to a little forest, doing bingo with teaching, about insects. all of these things, outdoor teaching. and sitting outside in the schoolyard, and reading, you can do a lot of things. you have to think more creatively, but it is part of it. because of the small groups, it is easier to be more creative and to have more attention to specific children. and for some children to

actually blossom from this. fomer us president barak 0bama has criticised american leadership over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it's ‘finally torn back the curtain on the idea that the folks in charge know what they're doing'. it comes as a committee of the us house of representatives has launched an investigation into the sacking by president trump of the state department's inspector general. mr trump said steve linick no longer had his full confidence. let's get more on this now with our north america correspondent peter bowes. peter, i think it was this time last week when we were talking about similar comments that barack 0bama had been making, describing the white house as chaos? yes, this is indeed the second weekend in a row that we have heard comments from barack 0bama, and quite unusual in itself, since we really haven't heard that much from the former president over the past three years

while president trump has been in office. and that is generally what happens, previous presidents tend to stay on the sidelines, while their successor is in the white house. but of course we are in a presidential election year and we know that barack 0bama election year and we know that ba rack 0bama has election year and we know that barack 0bama has said that he will support his vice president, joe biden. and we expect from over the coming months, to hear a lot more from barack 0bama. here he is again, criticising the trump administration was not a response to the pandemic. and the quote that you read just now is the key one that he says the pandemic has torn back the curtain on the idea that so many folks in charge know what they are doing. the implication being that the people in charge in the trump administration don't know what they're doing. and he says some are not even pretending to be in charge. of course, joe biden is hoping to beat donald trump to the presidency. and i think he's

got barack 0bama's backing. all of this adds to the same support, doesn't it? it does. and we expect, if and when, and we are in unprecedented circumstances at the moment, we are not hearing that much from joe biden, he has been holed up in the basement of his home, like so many other people, unable to get out there and speak to rallies as the presidential opponent the would—be president, would be doing at this time in the campaign. there is a big question mark over whether the conventions will even take place in a couple of months' time. but what is certain now, and as you said, two weeks in a row we hearfrom barack 0bama, in some senses they will be rekindling that old partnership as they move forward to the election day in november. peter, for the moment, thank you very much. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow's front pages in ‘the papers' shortly. time now for a look at the weather with ben

hello there. temperature set to climb over the coming days. for many of us, quite a cloudy start to the day, but we have seen some breaks in the cloud. tied in with this is a conveyor belt of warm air, really setting in over the next few days. through this evening tonight, a lot of dry weather around initially. increasing amounts of cloud spreading from the west. we will see some outputs of rain, particularly for northern ireland in western scotland, through eastern scotland, northern ireland and parts of north wales, the odd spot of drizzle is possible. towards the south—east corner, simply breaks. some spots down to three or four degrees. many places will stay

frost free tomorrow. across northern ireland and scotland we will see our of raina ireland and scotland we will see our of rain a —— outbreaks of rain at times. through the afternoon it looks like rain will return to the far north—west. the further south and east you are, some spells of hazy sunshine. the wind is relatively light, certainly lighter than they were today across northern parts of scotland. the temperature isa parts of scotland. the temperature is a touch higher, 20 degrees in london, always cooler the further north and west you are. as we move out of sunday and into monday we have high pressure to the south. frontal system is still running across northern parts of the uk. that will provide outbreaks of rain through sunday night. much of the wet weather will be clear through mainland scotland. the northern isles will be wet for a time. we will see further bits and pieces of rain across northern ireland, southern scotland that may be down to northern england. the further south and east you are, with spells of sunshine, temperatures up to about 23 degrees. tuesday, a similar —looking day in many ways. some outbreaks of rain across the northern half of the uk. further

south, largely dry with variable cloud and some spells of sunshine. by cloud and some spells of sunshine. by this stage it looks like we will see highs of 25 of 26 degrees. by wednesday, the temperatures could touch 27 towards parts of the south—east. as we get towards the end of the week, things look like they will change. a greater chance of seeing some rain and it will start to feel cooler once again.

hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment. martin lipton and the sun penny smith —— from the sun and penny smith —— from the sun and penny smith join smith —— from the sun and penny smithjoin us. first, the headlines. the uk education secretary warns the longer england's schools are closed, the more children miss out — as the government presses forward with plans to re—open them. people heed warnings not to overwhelm beaches,