back to school. thousands of pupils across england, wales, and northern ireland return to the classroom. for many of them, for the first time in months. with warnings that some children are months behind in their learning, ministers say it's vital students return. schools are open, they're ready for those young people, they've put in place all the measures that i've been talking about to keep people safe. but it is important for both their educational prospects and their mental health that young people are back in school over the course of this week. the children will be staying in the classrooms and it'll be the teachers who are moving about, so whereas in normal secondary school, they moved from class to class, it's kind of going to be a little bit like primary school. as mps return to work today, we'll be asking how much pressure the government is under over schooling. also this lunchtime. president trump is to visit the scene of the latest police shooting, but won't meet the victim's family.

free to thousands on the nhs. the soup and shake diet weight—loss plan which can put diabetes into remission. freshly clicked. m&s delivers groceries for the first time after its partnership with ocado hits the road. 0h! a new goalfor marcus rashford. after his success in extending free school meals, he's forming a team to tackle child food poverty. and coming up in sport on bbc news, a tough test awaits kyle edmund who's into the second round of the us open, where he'll face novak djokovic. good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one. thousands of pupils return

to classrooms in england, wales, and northern ireland today. it'll be the first time many of them have stepped into a classroom since the coronavirus lockdown in march, when schools were closed except to look after vulnerable children and those of key workers. for teachers, it's the first chance they will get to assess the growing divide between children who were able to study during lockdown and those boys and girls who, for whatever reason, struggled. our education correspondent elaine dunkley reports. it is back to school in england and wales, but mainly for teachers. final preparations before welcoming back all year groups. temperature checks and year group bubbles will be part of school life. how different will school be for those stu d e nts different will school be for those students arriving here? it will be different. students have staggered start times and entrances, they will notice that there are hand sanitising stations and washing stations, around the building, which they will be encouraged to use. and

they will be encouraged to use. and they will be encouraged to use. and they will notice a difference. but in terms of how it will feel, we hope to recapture that warmth and all that kindness that we were formally known for, irrespective of these other measures we have to put in place. there is a lot of focus on the start of this term, but those in year 11 and 13 will be thinking ahead to gcse and a—levels next year. plans are being considered to delay exams. we have been looking at this issue since mid june and we will come to a decision shortly so that schools know what the position will be. we have also changed the assessment process as well, to make sure we can free up as assessment process as well, to make sure we can free up as much teaching time as possible so those young people can catch up. that's why it's so people can catch up. that's why it's so important that young people now return to school. schools are working through contingency plans for a child or teacher with suspected coronavirus. all year groups return to the classroom in northern ireland today, and secondary schools there and in

scotland, children will wear face coverings in areas where it is and difficult to socially difference. reassuring parents has been one of the biggest challenges. it's a bit strange knowing we might have to wear a face mask but it might be safer. the children will be in classrooms and the teachers will move about, so it's kind of going to bea move about, so it's kind of going to be a little bit like primary school. millions of children have been absent from school since march. according to a report published today, children in england are three months behind in their learning. the impact felt most by the poorest children. there is this assumption that we will get everybody back to school, which is absolutely the right thing, and that everybody will be able to continue at the same pace as before the pandemic. but i don't think we can assume that that's going to be the case at all, actually. i think it will take some adjusting to teach in these new times. we are going to have to role model some extra things. there are

mixed feelings about the new term. the teachers are looking forward to getting back to teaching, but fears around coronavirus have not gone away. and let's speak to our political correspondent chris mason. this is a big moment, notjust for schools but for the government. yes, good afternoon. a huge moment because the government has been building up to it for months, the attempt to get lots of peoples back into classrooms before the summer holidays did not work as far as ministers were concerned, they didn't get as many bums on classroom seats as they hoped to. so since then they have been building up to today and the coming days as a school is in large chunks of the uk return and there is a spring in the step of government, in this issue they are confident that the head teachers are on board and most pa rents a re teachers are on board and most parents are on board. and the vast majority of pupils in the vast majority of pupils in the vast majority of pupils in the vast majority of schools will return, albeit operating in these bubbles, rather than entirely as they are used to used to prior to the virus

breaking out in march. what is interesting is that the government has got some what of a persuasion job with some of its own mps in westminster, who think, some of them, that the whole situation over them, that the whole situation over the summer as far as exams were concerned, was, to quote one former education winner of this lunchtime, a shambles. he said he could not quite believe why gavin williamson, the education secretary, is still the education secretary, is still the education secretary, saying that ministers have lost jobs the education secretary, saying that ministers have lostjobs for far less. so still a persuasionjob.“ you can still hear me! return to classroom by gavin williamson and other ministers this morning. always nice to be drowned out by a helicopter who his parked right over my head! a cabinet minister to start the autumn term in westminster. one minister, the defence secretary, managing to shake hands with someone

in downing street across of —— in front of the cameras. he has since apologised saying it is not a good idea. another helicopter! let's hear the prime minister this morning. people are going back to the office in huge numbers across our country and quite right too, and we know that there is still going to be more of this disease, this wretched covid still to come and we know there will be more outbreaks but we are confident that we going to be able to deal with those outbreaks and bit by bit, this incredible country is getting back on its feet and recovering from this crisis. the cabinet not meeting in the cabinet office this morning but in the foreign office, in a far bigger room, allowing them to meet physically rather than remotely. so the political term is under way and before, goodness knows, the red hours fly overhead and drown me out

completely, i will draw a discreet veil over my proceedings! no more droning on! thank you. employers who are making use of the government's furlough scheme will have to contribute to the cost from today. since march, the government has paid 80% of workers' wages. that's now going down to 70%. business groups are warning that some employers may struggle to cover the costs, making redundancies more likely. dharshini david reports. this supplier of sound systems should be winding events cancelled, it faces an agonising decision over the fate of its 170 staff, who've so far had their wages subsidised by the state. the fact that our costs would be ramping up in relation to the furlough scheme, as of september the 1st, that was when we decided we needed to go through our initial round of redundancies. so we entered a consultation period in july, we spoke to everybody in the company. we wanted to make sure that we were preparing ourselves for the worst.

with social distancing requirements a challenge, more than half of those in the arts and entertainment sector remained on furlough in august. they are not alone. one in eight workers, around 2.5 million in total, remained on the scheme in which the government paid up to 80% of wages. but that's being wound down. from today, the government will still pay 70% of wages, but employers will now have to find the other 10%, as well as paying national insurance and pension contributions. from next month, the government will only pay up to 60% of wages, while employers will be putting up the other 20% before the scheme stops altogether at the end of that month. and with business far from usual, economists and unions are warning that lay—offs could accelerate, with unemployment reaching rates not seen since the 1980s. it's too soon to turn off the tap.

we need a plan forjobs and that working our way out of this crisis is the best way to ensure that workers are spending their money locally, paying taxes and that we, step—by—step, begin to reopen the economy and build our way back. from a loyalty scheme for keeping on staff to lower vat rates for hospitality, there is still help available. but, with the eat out to help out programme also ending, there are concerns from business groups too. the chancellor has been deft, he needs to show that same deftness going forward, look at the evidence, see what's happening inthe economy and think about how you might, whether it is extended furlough or look at other grants, vat relief, business rate or national insurance, because jobs saved now are so much better value than dealing with a huge level of unemployment in the future. the chancellor is adamant that it's time for this scheme to end. having supported 9.5 million livelihoods, the job retention scheme has been

a ground—breaking and vital lifeline, but with a price tag to match, over £35 billion so far, which may mean tax rises further down the line. but this could be rishi sunak‘s toughest test yet. withdraw help too rapidly and it could be even more costly ultimately for livelihoods and our economy as a whole. dharshini david, bbc news. president trump will visit kenosha later today, the scene of violence and unrest since the police shooting there of jacob blake, the 29—year old black man shot seven times in the back. it could prove a difficult visit after the president defended the gunman who's been charged with killing two people during protests, suggesting it was self—defence. it all comes as the issue of law becomes key in the presidential election campaign. james landale reports. in election campaigns, politicians often talk of battle grounds. but rarely are they speaking literally. yet nine weeks before america goes to the polls,

the lawlessness gripping some cities is now a central issue. and donald trump has made it very clear which side he is on. kyle rittenhouse has been charged with shooting two people dead during protests in kenosha, wisconsin. yet the president said the 17—year—old, believed to be a member of a local militia, appeared to have been acting in self—defence. he was trying to get away from them, i guess, it looks like. and he fell, and then they very violently attacked him. and it was something that we are looking at right now, and it's under investigation. but i guess he was in very big trouble, he would have been, he probably would have been killed. today, mr trump will travel to kenosha, the scene of much unrest since jacob blake was shot repeatedly by a police officer in front of his children. the president will meet police and local law—enforcement officials and tour properties damaged in the violence. but he won't meet mr blake's family.

well, i spoke with the pastor, a wonderful man, the family's pastor, and i thought it would be better not to do anything where they were lawyers involved. they wanted me to speak but they wanted to have lawyers involved and i thought that was inappropriate so i didn't do that. for in this unrest, mr trump has sensed a political opportunity, to make this election all about law and order, and blame his opponent for the lack of it. the wave of violence and destruction that we've seen in recent weeks and months has occurred in the city is exclusively controlled and dominated by the biden, joe biden party. liberal politicians, mayors, prosecutors and judges are refusing to enforce the law and put the rioters injail. joe biden saw that coming and responded in kind, accusing the president of fomenting the unrest. he can't stop the violence, because for years, he has fomented it. you know, he may believe mouthing the words "law and order" makes him strong,

but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as an armed militia in this country shows how weak he is. the political risk for mr biden is that he's seen as soft on lawlessness. a risk he sought to counter. i want to make it absolutely clear, i'm going to be very clear about all of this. rioting is not protesting. looting is not protesting. setting fires is not protesting. none of this is protesting. it's lawlessness, plain and simple. for months, the focus on the election has been on donald trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the economy. but the scenes of unrest on the streets are now centrestage. that dynamic is changing. james landale, bbc news. thousands more people in england with type two diabetes will be offered the chance to try a soup and shake diet weight—loss plan, forfree, on the nhs.

studies show switching to the low—calorie liquid diet can put diabetes into remission. obesity and type two diabetes are linked and both increase the risk of complications from covid—19. richard galpin has more. it's estimated almost two thirds of adults in england are overweight or obese. 20% of children are obese by the end of primary school. all this often the result of poor diet. and obesity is linked to type two diabetes, which can have a devastating impact on people's lives. it's one of the commonest causes of blindness, kidney failure, amputations, increases the risk of heart attack and strokes. so if we can support people to stay healthy, to put their type two diabetes into remission, i think the gains for individuals are huge, but the gains for the nhs and the taxpayer are very real as well. so now, to try and tackle this obesity and type two diabetes crisis,

the nhs is rebooting an earlier campaign to help people maintain a healthy weight. initially, 5,000 people living with type two diabetes will be offered a free diet of shakes and soups, totalling less than 1,000 calories a day. this provided for up to three months. it should lead to weight loss and, for almost half the people in one trial, the trial led to the diabetes going into remission after a year. it was straightaway checking my diet, making sure i was eating healthily, cutting out all the carbohydrates, or as many as i could. and also looking at my weight. my weight had gone on over a few years. started running, started exercising, and did what i could to try and bring the sugar levels down in my blood and within six months, it reduced an awful lot and i was on medication for about a year or so and have not taken any tablets now for four years. and i'm still doing 0k. the need for action is acute.

according to public health england, one third of people who died in hospital with coronavirus had diabetes. experts say there's never been more important time to lose weight. it is just after quarter past one. our top story this lunchtime... back to school — thousands of pupils in england and wales return to the classroom with warnings that some children are months behind in their learning. what are you doing?! and coming up — a lucky escape for this dog after it chased seagulls into the sea in north wales. and coming up in sport on bbc news, we hear from andy murray ahead of his return to grand slam tennis at the us open this afternoon.

first it was free school meal vouchers during the summer holidays, and now the england footballer marcus rashford has a new goal. he's formed a task force with charities and supermarkets to try to end child food poverty in the uk. the manchester united striker has written a letter to the prime minister, outlining the extra help he says some families still need. he's been speaking exclusively to sally nugent. go on, get it. 0h! for the footballer marcus rashford, this is a deeply personal project. i am a single parent. yeah. itjust helped him so much with getting food for himself. thank you. it's no problem. no problem. i thinkjust to see the smiles on their faces and to see how much it has helped them made me happy to see that, actually with my own eyes. it's a stigma. they look at it as, well, who goes to these places, food banks?

they look down on it, but with you speaking about it and saying you have been through it, it has given another family confidence. 0k, he has gone through it. it is only a situation, we can pass it and i can ask for help. marcus spent the summer thinking about what he wants to do next. we pretty much knew straight away that we had found a short—term solution, but that wasn't going to work in the long run, so we had to think about how is the best way to do it so that these families can eat long term and not have any issues? hello, everyone. can everybody hear me? some of the biggest brands on the country are on this call. most have now signed up to rashford's task force. they are supporting these proposals from the national food strategy. expanding free school meals to every child from a household on universal credit or similar benefits. providing holiday food and activities for all children on free school meals.

increasing healthy start food vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 per week. henry dimbleby is leading the review and spoke at the start of the call. it is important because the alternative to a school lunch is packed lunch, and only 1% of packed lunches have the nutritional value of a school meal, and if you look at packed lunches as children get less affluent, those packed lunches have increasingly low nutritional balance. so this is a fantastic way to get children eating well at school. we're not specialists in the area. they actually are. so i am learning so much, whilst they're on the call, they are giving me figures that have sent me a bit, like, wow! now the footballer has written to the prime minister, thanking him for the u—turn over free school meals in the summer holidays back in june. in a very personal letter drawing on his own experiences as a child,

he outlines the extra help he feels some families still need now more than ever. his task force calls for it to be funded as soon as possible. marcus rashford is hoping that by extending the conversation, he might be able to help even more children. sally nugent, bbc news, manchester. from today, marks & spencer will begin doing something many of its competitors have been doing for years — it is making its full food range available to order online. m&s has bought a 50% share of ocado's retail business, which gives the grocer an internet—based delivery service for the first time. our business correspondent emma simpson is here how much is riding on this for m&s? a huge amount. this is a business trying to revise its clothing business, reverse its decline in profits, and having to cut costs. the other week it announced 7000 job

losses as a child to reset the business. food has always been a bright spot over the years for m&s, and for quite a long time it has been looking at how to finally catch up been looking at how to finally catch up and get online. to do this at scale and speed, teaming up with ocado was the only option. it is expensive, it is spending £750 million on this joint—venture and there is a lot riding on it. and i caught up with m&s's director of online food. this is a transformative moment, we want to grow this business but for the first time customers will be able to see the full range online of the m&s project but also see value coming through in the prices. and unless's food has a reputation for being expensive, but it has been cutting prices and adding hundreds of projects because it wants us to try to do the family shop with sand ——

m&s's food has a reputation. will this online gamble payoff? ocado has ditched its partner of nearly 20 yea rs, ditched its partner of nearly 20 years, waitrose, so will shoppers stick all switch? will they go to waitrose's own website or shop elsewhere? it will be fascinating to watch, because amazon fresh is nibbling at the heels, a pink bmt. it will be a battle ground for upmarket shoppers. —— nibbling at the heels, upping the ante. since marks & spencer did to steal the market for online groceries has almost doubled thanks to the pandemic, because demand has gone through the wrist, so there may be no shortage of customers, but m&s really has to deliver on this. the scottish first minister looks set to signal moves towards the creation of a national care service for scotland. it's thought the announcement will form part of nicola sturgeon‘s

new programme for government to be unveiled today. alexandra mackenzie is at holyrood. what else are we expecting her to say? nicola sturgeon has already said she does not want coronavirus to define scotland, but coronavirus is very likely to influence what she says behind me later this afternoon. we know a couple of things she is likely to talk about and an answer, one of those is a national service.. that would be for the elderly, working alongside the nhs. we are unlikely to get more details on that today but we understand the government is keen to get on and do the groundwork for this. that would be things like our further powers needed and how would it be funded? this comes in the context of elderly and care homes being badly affected by the pandemic. one of the other

thing she is likely to talk about is jobs and providing the economy. that would bejobs for jobs and providing the economy. that would be jobs for young jobs and providing the economy. that would bejobs for young people, greener jobs, would bejobs for young people, greenerjobs, training for young people so they are not seen as the last generation of coronavirus. —— the lost generation. it also caring for older people whose jobs might have disappeared because of the pandemic. the opposition parties called for more investment in transport, roads, the m8 between edinburgh and glasgow and the ra i lwa ys edinburgh and glasgow and the railways between the main cities and more investment in childcare. we know this is going to be a very different government plan this year, next year because ‘s hollywood election, brexit, independence, they are likely to take a back—seat but we will know more for definite at

around 2:30pm —— the holyrood election. now, we know lots of sports have suffered with the coronavirus pandemic, but one that seems to be flourishing is golf. the game has been able to easily adopt social distancing guidelines, and clubs all over the country are registering a huge surge in membership. sarah mulkerrins has been to grange park golf club in st helens to find out more. from the depths of lockdown came a surge in interest. as golf courses reopened around the country, new members were finding joy in hitting the ball. clubs that once worried about dindling numbers have now been given a lifeline. did you ever think you would get into golf? no. don't even need to think about that, no. it had... ..the preconceptions that i had about it, until you actually nothing like you expect. my sons are 30 and 33, i'm 62, and we can play together,

my sons are 30 and 33, i'm 62, and we can play together, and occasionally compete. this summer, since lockdown, they've signed up 30 jothackson is the club's manager, so could he have predicted that? jothackson is the club's manager, so could he have predicted that? no, not at all. no, it surprised me, to be honest with you. but obviously it's great for the golf club and it's great for the sport to see so many people wanting to take part, people of all different ages. yeah, it's fantastic, really. these newcomers at grange park golf club are mirroring a trend. anecdotally, in the sport, we've been hearing about surges in membership, and now the body that governs the amateur game in england has backed up that with the latest figures. an extra 20,000 members havejoined golf clubs around england since the coronavirus pandemic. i think golfjust lends itself to allowing people, after lockdown, to get out, socialise, see one another, and it's fantastic to see golf on the rise. i think the challenge now is making sure that golf clubs look at ways

to retain those members. and that was a question i put to golfers on social media. "what barriers are currently in place, and what would keep them coming back?" manny highlighted the time, the expense and the perceived culture of golf as being the biggest blockers. i think golf is affordable, it is flexible and it's accessible. i think people after lockdown realised that that was the case, and it might have been something that was at the back of their mind to do, and they've just bitten the bullet while opportunity was there and thought, "actually, yeah, this is something that i do actually enjoy." so what's ahead, then, for these new members? i think if i've stuck at it for these few months, i think it's something that... i'm enjoying it, even a bad game, you still want to come back and improve. i'd like to beat my son, but he plays on seven and he's a bit handy, so that might not happen this year. and unforseen opportunity when all around us is changing, golf now has the chance to reimagine its future. sarah mulkerrins, bbc news, st helens.

a dog's had a very close shave after swimming in the sea off rhyl in north wales. have you got it? straight ahead. hello! here! you are not meant to be this far! the dogs owner dialled 999 and spoke to the coastguard to say that his dog was swimming out to sea "chasing seagulls — and would not turn back." the dog ended up half a mile off the shore, and had to be rescued by lifeboat. hello! we now have to jog hello! we now have tojog on board. do you know where the owners are, over? the dog has now been reunited with its owner — the rnli says she was happy to get back to dry land. this dog was particularly after some seagulls out at the, the steagall was swimming happily with the dog

chasing its. ithink was swimming happily with the dog chasing its. i think she was going for a marathon swim to the wind farms, iam for a marathon swim to the wind farms, i am not too sure, for a marathon swim to the wind farms, iam not too sure, she for a marathon swim to the wind farms, i am not too sure, she was quite a way off but in good spirits and very well—behaved. quite a way off but in good spirits and very well-behaved. let's see if there are any more rough seas as fair. nick miller has the weather. it isa it is a dog friendly see off the coast of norfolk, a glorious start to september and meet illogical autumn. there is a weak weather system close to northern ireland and scotland, there is the chance of seeing patchy rain. the satellite picture shows a contrast in skies across the uk. a package to the cloud in northern ireland, brightening up gradually to the afternoon —— eight back edge to the cloud. a more vigorous area of low pressure will turn things wetter and windier fulsome pressure will turn things wetter and windierfulsome others pressure will turn things wetter and windier fulsome others into tomorrow. cloud building across england and wales after