good evening. there's growing pressure on the government to keep all schools in england closed for the next two weeks to help slow the spread of coronavirus. headteachers are now taking legal action against the department for education, to force ministers to reveal why they think it's safe to allow primaries outside london and parts of the south east to reopen on monday. teaching unions say moving lessons online is "the only sensible and credible option". here's our education correspondent, dan johnson.

children and teachers were amongst those invited for tests at charlton's football ground today. one way to help keep the virus out of schools, but will it be enough? some think things are out of control and they want schools to stay closed. teaching unions say staff are at risk. we know members of our union got sick. some of them died over the christmas period. so there is the concern for our members. there is also concern for parents and grandparents and we don't think it is safe. we think there should be a period of closure to get cases down. london's primary school children will all stay off after a u—turn ended the patchwork of partial closures. so harrison has a fortnight at home. we are not going back to school and we are going to have to do home learning. what do you think about that? not very good because i want to see my friends. mum and dad have the challenge of finding childcare. it all seems very la st finding childcare. it all seems very last minute, really. it's all very

confusing. they keep chopping and changing which makes it very hard to plan. teachers are also being tested in liverpool, tier 3, where schools are due to open. although scientists advised closers could help slow the spread of the virus, officials say there is no evidence schools themselves are not safe.” there is no evidence schools themselves are not safe. i don't feel they should close because i feel they should close because i feel just as safe feel they should close because i feeljust as safe in school as i would anywhere. i feel the children have missed a lot of education as it is. the new strain has come out and what we see happening in london, it was happening like we happened with us. was happening like we happened with us. we had the extra testing brought in earlier on. london didn't and now they are closing and i think we should all do the same.|j they are closing and i think we should all do the same. i don't feel like they should stay closed. our r rate is a lot lower and the school i work at, our head teacher is amazing and she has put everything in place to protect staff, parents and children. there is now a legal challenge to see the government's basis for reopening primary schools

on monday. in wales and northern ireland the return was already delayed one week. in scotland it is two weeks. there is a lot for the government to consider here, the new strains, the rising transmission rates, the pressure on the nhs and the demographics in different communities. it has always said keeping children off school would be a last resort. but there is growing pressure to extend these closures beyond london and parts of the south—east, and teachers are calling for decisions to be made quickly but clearly. a phased return is planned for england's secondary school is starting a week on monday, with the hope mass testing will limit disruption and minimise online learning. despite the downsides of that it learning. despite the downsides of thatitis learning. despite the downsides of that it is already a reality for many children, and possibly beyond the next two weeks. danjohnson, bbc news, south—east london. our political correspondent chris mason is here. the government has reversed policy in education in the middle of this pandemic on a number of occasions so could we see another u—turn on this?

precedent suggests a u—turn is entirely possible. tonight brighton and hove council has written to its primary schools saying they should shift to remote learning so will the government pursue a legal course with them like they did with greenwich in south—east london? what happens if other local authorities follow suit. teachers say this new variant is a game changer. they are pursuing this legal action, a couple of them, that obliges the department for education by 4pm on monday to respond with a case that makes schools safe as they see it. meanwhile, the national education union says its members should not go to work, that it is not safe for them to go to work. so what happens if lots and lots of teachers don't turn up? will that force the government's hand? for now the government's hand? for now the government says its default position is that schools should remain open but clearly things are very, very fluid and the data is shifting all

the time. just as in 2020, covid robbed us of certainty, for pupils and parents it will do the same againi and parents it will do the same again i think for the next couple of months. political correspondent chris mason, thank you. the latest official figures show there were 57,725 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 48,849. there were 445 deaths reported — that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test, but today's figures don't include scotland. it means that on average in the past week, 584 deaths were announced every day, taking the total across the uk to 74,570. the second coronavirus vaccine to be approved for use in the uk is now being distributed to hospitals across the country. the oxford vaccine will be rolled out from monday. the body that advises the government on immunisation has been defending the decision to delay giving people their second dose of the pfizer vaccine, so that many more people can receive an initial jab.

here's our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. some of the first deliveries of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine arriving at the princess royal hospital in sussex. nhs staff are preparing to receive the new coronavirus vaccine, the second to be approved for use in the second to be approved for use in the uk, ahead of a nationwide roll—out on monday when the first injections will be given. what this does is it allows us to focus on the most vulnerable people and make sure they are protected from this disease. ultimately that will keep people well and reduce the pressure on the health service over the next few months. the oxford vaccine joins the pfizer one which was approved for use in early december. almosti million people have received the first injection and expected a booster three weeks later. that has been extended to 12 weeks. the government's vaccination advisers

say delaying the booster is the right approach. we are in a dire situation in this country at the moment. the virus is rapidly spreading and the more vaccine we can get into these priority groups that we have identified, the more deaths and hospitalisations we will prevent. but some patients who have already had their first dose are concerned about the changes and that they could be more at risk from the disease than they had expected. they could be more at risk from the disease than they had expectedlj can disease than they had expected.” can manage that, but a lot of elderly people will not be in a position to manage it and they will worry a lot about it. and again i don't think they have thought this through. so how much protection does one shot of the vaccine give you? government scientists a 2—3 weeks getting the first adviser vaccine around 90% of people were protected from falling ill from covid—i9. as for the oxford vaccine, that figure was around 73% after three weeks. in

the short—term, protection seems be high. pfizer says however that its vaccine has not been tested for an extended second dose. and for gps who have been rolling out the vaccine programme, the change in guidance has come at a challenging time. our most vulnerable patients who have had the vaccination often only have a landline and need to be phoned. it is very time consuming to let people know. and it takes time to explain to people, people are understandably disappointed.- to explain to people, people are understandably disappointed. to the government is determined to get the vaccine out to as many people and as quickly as possible but convincing those now waiting longer than they'd expected that the delay is safe will ta ke expected that the delay is safe will take time. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. rangers and celtic have marked the 50th anniversary of the ibrox disaster, in which 66 fans died in a crush at the glasgow stadium, with wreaths laid outside the ground. the old firm derby today ended

with rangers winning i—0 and extending their lead at the top of the scottish premiership. here's chris mclaughlin. in a city often divided by football, unity in remembrance. in 1971, a crush on a stairway left barriers crumpled, 66 men, women and children dead, and countless families in mourning. today's silence and a since—modernised ibrox could only be observed by players and staff. a new year of hope, yes, but coronavirus still dictates. when play started, it was celtic who set the early pace. there was no way past allan mcgregor, though. but the game changed after this, bitton brought down morelos, and his side's chances, as he was sent packing. the goal when it came shortly afterwards was scrappy. callum mcgregor shouldering the ball but not quite all of the blame.

the damage had already been done. commentator: and that is that. mind the gap, celtic do have games in hand but it's 19 points clear for steven gerrard's side. so, a huge result for rangers, a big blow for celtic, but today, here in this city, it was about so much more than football. this was glasgow united — united in remembrance and in a determination that the 66 people who came along here 50 years ago to watch their team and never returned home, will never be forgotten. chris mclaughlin, bbc news, ibrox stadium. that's it. the prime minister will be on the andrew marr show tomorrow at 9am, and i'll be back with the late news tonight at 10:00pm. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. bye for now.

hello. this is bbc news. employers in all sectors have been cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs, as the economy struggles people out of work. our business correspondent, sarah corker, spoke to some of them about the chalenge of finding a job. three people who all lost theirjobs because of the pandemic.

olympia, rebecca and heather were facing the toughestjobs market for a generation. we've got no money coming in, so we'll survive as long as we can. i first met olympia and herfamily back in may. she was touring as part of a circus troupe when the first lockdown restrictions came in and they were stranded on morecambe seafront for months. with no money coming in, it was a real struggle. it's fear. fear that... that i might not ever be able to do what i love again, which is perform, in the circus, because we might not recover. since then, things have got better. olympia's moved in with her mum in rotherham to save money, and wait until they're allowed to perform again. financially it's been a big strain. it's been massive. like i say, we normally work from february to november, so about 85—90% of our shows were just cancelled or stopped

or postponed until next year. five months on morecambe prom, relying on the food bank to feed you guys — what was that experience like? it was really hard. coming to terms with the fact that i had to rely on other people to eat and to live. in west yorkshire, rebecca was finding competition for jobs fierce. how many roles have you applied for? i don't think i could possibly tell you. she'd worked in communications at a high street bank for a decade when she was made redundant in the summer. with every application that goes out the door, it does kind of chip away at your confidence and how you feel. it's already dog eat dog. it's only going to get worse. three months on, she's now working for a shed company. and it's been really busy, hasn't it? it's completely booming at the minute, is the shed industry, yeah, believe it or not. it's a new world for me. it's a million miles away from banking. what's it like after, you know, so many months not working, finally having a regular wage again? it was a massive confidence boost.

there's no shame in saying that, although, yes, you've got your friends and family and things, when you've got a job, you feel like you've got purpose, so it felt like i had purpose again. financially, things were going to get better for me. some of those in their 50s and 60s, like heatherfrom prestwich near manchester, felt they were being overlooked. the best one is "you're overqualified , " which doesn't make any sense to me, because, you know, if you're qualified to this level, then you can do anyjob up until that level. so, being overqualified doesn't mean a thing, except it's another way of saying you're too old. heather is still on the job hunt but is enjoying having more time exercising in the local park. did you think it would take this long and that it would be this hard? um, yeah, basically. i've been here before, in much better times, so. there are obviously a lot more people unemployed,

and because there's more people unemployed, but then there's fewer jobs at the moment because a lot of people are on furlough still. but she is determined to get back into work. i don't relax. i'm not a relaxed sort of person, i can't do nothing. so for some, the search for work continues, but the arrival of an effective vaccine has brought renewed optimism for 2021. sarah corker, bbc news. more now on the increased pressure on the uk government to keep schools across england closed for at least two weeks amid a surge in coronavirus cases. a number of teaching unions have supported a call for to move students to remote learning when teaching restarts on monday. and, tonight, the bbc has learned that brighton and hove council is advising primary schools in its area to switch to remote learning next week. the council says it is now awaiting a response from the department for education, but will advise primary headteachers in the meantime

to move to remote learning for all pupils except vulnerable children and those of critical workers. the national union of head teachers have begun preliminary steps in legal proceedings against the uk government, asking them to publish the scientific evidence behind the decision to allow some schools to reopen on monday. its president is ruth davies. shejoins me now. hello to you. thank you very much indeed for being with us here on bbc news. what is the purpose of this legal action. first and foremost can we make it clear that our ambition is to keep schools open. our ambition is for continuity of learning and for education. clearly children are best suited in school and that is where their well—being as well as their educational progress better but those settings need to be safe ones and so this action we have initiated against the government has not been when we have taken lightly but it has been an important move forward, as far as we're concerned, towards securing a better and safer plan in

the absence of, quite frankly, a lack of any strategy from government in recent months. you're basically saying you don't believe the government or you don't trust the government. we are saying that the government. we are saying that the government seems to be functioning at the moment with one reactive plan upon the exit plan. there is no strategy, they are not listening to the professionals, they are not listening to the experts, they are nearly responding all the acting day by day two whenever the next set of problems emerge. —— responding or reacting. children and their families deserve better than this and we're saying to all of them that we need to know the evidence that they are working from, we need to have sight of the detail that they say they are using to inform their decisions and we are asking them to help letters help them make a better plan going forward. is the action based on the fact that there is a variant out there that is much more virulent the previous iteration, as it were, of covid—i9? virulent the previous iteration, as it were, of covid-19? certainly the

features on our concerns. as you can imagine we are moving back into a school setting next week for many of our members in schools and communities and our school leaders have responsibility for the health and safety of everybody who comes onto their sites. they and their governing bodies take this responsibility very, very seriously and, so, yes, the new variant does add a significant layer of additional unknowns into the risk assessments which already needed updating in the light of the the developments at the end of last term. and if you come back from this legal challenge with the politicians making it clear that they've based their decision on sound science, you will back the government then, from now on? we have always said that we will support the government when we are absolutely clear and... in order ball we need help and support to run... inaudible. do it yourself is not the way forward and we need

the government to come up with a clear plan for how this programme can be rolled out. if our children and our students are to return to school in a secure and safe and sustainable way for the rest of this academic year. b say that a lot of this has been based on the new variant of covid—i9 that is out there and seems to be spreading much more vigorously. the education setting gavin williamson has made it clear that all schools in london and parts of the south—east will close. and this new variant is more prevalent in london and the south—east. and so they are basing their decisions on sound science, and they? well, it seems to be variance in their own decision—making. if you recall, it wasn't too many weeks ago that the government were threatening to take legal action. we were supporting local authorities at the time who we re local authorities at the time who were asking for the ability to, the option to close their schools in order to stem the flow and the rise of what is now emerged that a new

variant and at that time the government responded by threatening with legal action. a few weeks later they have completely reversed that position and seem to be saying the opposite. what we are asking for the government to do is to come out and provide us with the information and the evidence we require so that we can be assured that they are indeed following the science and notjust the latest headline. what you say your ambition is for schools to remain open and for there to be continuity of learning. the government and said it is ok at the moment for schools, some primary schools to reopen. what would you say to parents, ben? who are wondering, well, you know, they don't really know what is going on because you are saying one thing, the government is saying another. it is all very confusing for them and we know the impact, if you have indicated, of children not being at school, not just in indicated, of children not being at school, notjust in terms of their learning capacity but also psychologically. absolutely, and you're right. i think the lack of a strategy does lead to confusion and

it leads to a loss of confidence. our parents, their children, their families, they need is to build their confidence, and in orders for that to happen, we need to be assured that the government is using the latest information and is absolutely transparent about the information it is working from and not just making it information it is working from and notjust making it up as it goes along. quite frankly, our learners deserve better than they are currently getting. there isn't a head teacher in the convent, country that wants to close the school. trust me, we take our responsibility very, very seriously. we take our responsibility to our community is extremely seriously. this isn't about head teachers wanting to close schools. this is about head teachers wanting to open schools but in order to do that we need to have risk assessments to ensure that safe act across our settings, in order for us to ensure that we have those risk assessments, we desperately need access to the information that the government says it is driving upon to make its own decisions. ok. ruth davis, president of the national union of head teachers. thank you

for joining union of head teachers. thank you forjoining us with. from july 2019 to march 2020 australia witnessed its most intense bushfire season on record. blazes swept across 24 million hectares of land, affecting every australian state, destroying more than 3,000 homes and killing or displacing nearly three billion animals. at least 33 people died in what is now known as australia's black summer. one year on — the bbc‘s australia correspondent shaimaa khalil has returned to some of the worst affected areas. wow! it was the bushfire season australians had feared. conditions were dry for months and the heat was soaring. but nothing prepared them for the catastrophic blazes they faced. australia's black summer shocked the nation and the world. a year ago i met russell scholes, a volunteer firefighter in the town of balmoral. his house was burned to the ground while he was helping his next—door neighbour. he and his wife now live in

a converted garage on the same land. it will be many months until their new property is built. our living conditions are better than what they were, but they're still pretty harsh. all the dead trees around us remind you of the fire. you can't get away from it. it is there and it's there to remind us. if we get hot days and huge winds, that really starts to make the hairs on your back stand on end. itjust makes you feel — not again. you know, we don't want that again. last summer's bushfires were unprecedented in their ferocity and the huge destruction that they caused. most scientists agree that climate change played a big part in creating the catastrophic fire conditions and a royal commission enquiry now says that further global warming is inevitable within the next 20 years and that australians should prepare for more extreme weather. new year's eve was a defining moment of the bushfire season.

oh, my god! this was the town of rosedale in new south wales on the day. holiday—makers and locals sheltering on the beach, watching in horror. oh, my god! two—thirds of the homes here were destroyed. i felt very focused onjust staying alive. and, secondly, doing what they could with our defences to save our property. but ultimately that wasn't possible. the radiant heat wasjust too strong. jack egan survived after taking shelter in a fire bunker. it was a life changing moment. he quit his job and focused full—time on campaigning for more action on climate change. we're a canary in a coal mine here. we have to play our part as the canary that broadcasts to the world "watch out, it's coming for you and it's coming fast!" but the climate debate is politically divisive here. fossil fuels, especially coal and gas, are among australia's most

valuable exports and the government has so far resisted pressure to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. our policies won't be set in the united kingdom, they won't be set in brussels, they won't be set in any part of the world other than here, because it's australians' jobs and it's australia's economy of australia's recovery from the covid—19 recession that matters to me and my cabinet the decisions we take. in areas battered by the bushfires there are now signs of life. but most experts say that unless something is done quickly to address the climate crisis in australia and around the world this level of devastation it will become the norm. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, new south wales. it's taken 36 years.

has made it to the uk's number one slot. it was kept off the top of the charts in 1984 by band aid's ‘do they know it's christmas'. the dj richard blade has been explaining what wham's belated success, means to him. # last christmas i gave you my heart # but the very next day you gave it away. . . # i mean, it's one of those tracks that people, when you hear it, you think about george, you think about wham, and you think about the time of year, it's the perfect track. # last christmas i gave you my heart. ..# i was really shocked, actually, it had never been to number one on the uk charts before. it's one of those songs that people request all the time because they love wham, they love george. i was very, very lucky to know wham from their earliest days. when they first came over in 1982, i had them on my radio show. they did their first ever live gigs with me at the beginning of 1983. i took them to the 321 club

in santa monica, california, and that was the first time they played live when they lip synced to young guns and bad boys. and then they did it the next night at the club i was doing in westwood. # well, it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me...# the uk charts, to be number one on the bbc at christmas is so important, and i think it could be starting a tradition because, i mean, they have got the movie behind it, last christmas, they've got the song, why not george michael and wham at number one? it should be a tradition. # ..but the very next day you gave it away.#

ticket—holder has started the new year by winning the euromillions jackpot of nearly £40 million — that's around $55 million dollars. one ticket matched all five regular numbers and two lucky stars in the draw on friday night. the winning numbers were 16, 28, 32, 44 and 48, with the lucky stars 01 and 09. time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. good afternoon. with the cold weather remaining for the rest of the weekend at least, the showers that are coming along are falling as snow over the hills, but even at lower levels, and so ice is a real concern because it is bitter out there. even with the sunshine, temperatures are barely reaching more than 3—4 degrees above freezing, and we have seen quite a number of showers around. so, under the cover of darkness, once again, temperatures will plummet. and it looks as if the showers will continue, as well, so that's obviously going to cause a hazard on the roads with the damp surfaces leading to ice. even in southern and eastern areas, we pick up a few more showers, so the widespread frost

meaning it will be icy. quite harsh again in the north, perhaps a little lighter, the frost, further south, but nevertheless a frost, a cold start. slightly changing the distribution of the showers for tomorrow because we are picking up more of a north—easterly compared with the northerly today, and a bracing north—easterly as well, which will accentuate the chill. more showers in central and eastern areas. but cold wherever you are. the warnings are on the website. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. pressure grows to shut more schools. unions are demanding an immediate two week closure of all primaries and secondaries in england. we don't think it's safe, we think there should be a period of closure to get those cases down to make sure they have fallen well below where they have fallen well below where they were before christmas. it's vital that that happens. it comes as the uk records more than 50 thousand cases for the fifth day in a row and, wham's last christmas has topped the uk singles chart for the first time, 36 years after it