tonight at 10pm... a catch—up plan for pupils in england's schools to compensate for months of missed lessons. the return of students to schools and colleges from march 8th will be supported with an extra £400 million for tutoring and summer schools. it comes with what's called a "robust" covid testing regime. teachers say the plans need to be extended to get the best outcome. to get high—quality staff and high—quality experiences for those children, we need to make it a longer—term commitment. we'll have more on the catch—up plan, with its specialfocus on helping disadvantaged pupils. also tonight... dj jo whiley says she's delighted that those with a learning disability, like her sister, will now be prioritised for a covid vaccine. in scotland, the growing rift

between first minister nicola sturgeon and former first minister alex salmond, which comes to a head later this week. has he been physically violent before? calls to one domestic abuse charity have risen by more than 50% in the past year, as lockdown has increased suffering for many. and the van gogh masterpiece hidden from public view for the past 100 years is to be sold at auction. and coming up in sport on bbc news... a demoralising first day for england, bowled out for 112 in ahmedebad, as india have the upper hand in the third test. good evening. the "full return" of students to schools and colleges in england, on march 8th, is justified by the latest data, and what's

called a "robust" covid testing regime is part of the plans. that was the assurance given to parents and pupils by gavin williamson, the education secretary, who also addressed the fact that hundreds of thousands of students have missed so much work this year. so he announced an extra £400 million, on top of 300 million announced last month, for what's being billed as a catch—up programme. out of that sum, £302 million will be for primary and secondary schools to spend on their most disadvantaged pupils. another £200 million is for expanded tutoring programmes. and £200 million will be set aside for extra face—to—face summer schools for some secondary pupils. 0ur education editor, branwenjeffreys, has been assessing the challenge in two schools in the west midlands. are we ready? what's our first sound? 0y, nice and loud! a haven for children as families struggle on. at this school almost half the pupils qualify for extra funding,

but this crucial start to learning has been badly disrupted. a three—year—old has had one year of their life mainly in the home, and to try and develop language from that we need to get out and about and experience it. we can make plans for a six—week summer holiday, we can add enrichment with some of the money they've said, but to get high—quality staff and high—quality experiences for those children we need to make it a longer—term commitment. tonight the education secretary said if children need help they'll get it. is that a promise that parents can hold you to? schools have always delivered for all children right across the country, and the reason that we've given such a broad range of tools for schools to be able to bring to bear to help children we would hope that would be able to the needs of all children, whatever their background. for the very youngest children, it's not so much about loss of learning but about all those many

milestones in independence that school helps them develop. being able to sit quietly and listen, the social skills they need to communicate. mums stacey and clare are most worried about the emotional impact. he does sometimes get scared to go out. he'll be like, "but what if we die, mummy?" he wants to wear a mask. i want him to be able to catch up and be where he is on the basic skills, and then mostly it's more important for the social side. he just wants to see his friends. i worry about their confidence levels. year 11 pupils at this school are already getting tutoring. there's a bit more money today for this kind of help. it's really valuable. i don't feel panic when i don't get stuff in class because i can always go back to them and they'll help me. in a big classroom, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses whereas in one—to—one tutoring i'm able to go over things that i

specifically struggle in. today's money adds up to around £22,000 for a secondary school like this. it's a bit less than a starting teacher's salary for one year. and to put it into context, the budget for the school for a year is more than £6 million. still, here they say it's extra for their summer school for new pupils. year sixes have missed out a big chunk of preparation work they'd have been doing in their primary schools, and so now it is notjust what is already a very difficult moment of transition but we have a much bigger picture and a lot more children that will not be necessarily quite as ready as we would like. for schools, the next big job will be gcse and a—level grades. since exams were cancelled injanuary, teenagers have been waiting

anxiously. more detail on what will be used to work out grades is expected tomorrow. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. every adult who's on their gp's learning disability register will now be moved up the queue for a coronavirus vaccine. previously, only those with severe learning disabilities or in care homes were given priority. learning disabilities or in care the change follows a campaign by the dj jo whiley, on behalf of her sister frances, who has a learning disability. 0ur health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, has the story. because of my condition, sometimes it's hard for me to be able to process information. vijay patel, one of more than a million people in england with a learning disability. he's been campaigning for everyone like him to be prioritised for a covid—i9 vaccine. it's been really hard, i would say. notjust me, but it's other people with learning disabilities too. because we have faced so anxious times during this pandemic,

that we haven't been given the right support and we've felt we've been forgotten as well. today government advisers on thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation said everyone on a gp learning disability register should get the vaccine, increasing the number of those eligible by around 150,000 people. the change follows a high—profile campaign by the dj jo whiley after she was offered the vaccine ahead of her sister frances, who has a learning disability and who was hospitalised with covid—i9 last week and is now recovering. this is a great day. i am so relieved, i'm so happy for all those people who have been living in fear. i'm very grateful to the government for listening, because it's a very complicated situation and it's difficult to categorise people according to their disability. it's very tricky, and that become apparent over the past few months. government advisers say it's people with moderate to severe learning disabilities who are at increased

risk of covid—i9 and should be prioritised for vaccinations. that's more than a quarter of a million people. but charities say that's just a fraction of those with learning disabilities, and that everyone, including those with a mild condition, should now get the jab. people are dying at six times the rate of the general population, and for younger groups that rises to factors of the people in their 20s and 30s, they are 30 times more likely to die. the government however says it's more complicated than that. scotland said on monday it'll prioritise all people with learning disabilities for the vaccine. wales and northern ireland will follow england, and charities there are now encouraging those like vijay who aren't sure to contact their gp to find out if they're eligible. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. more than 18 million people have been given a covid vaccine so far, making the uk's programme among the most successful in the world.

but there is a glaring weakness in the distribution because of the difficulty in reaching some of the most vulnerable people, in deprived communities and among some ethnic minorities. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, has been to east london, where some boroughs have the lowest take—up rate in the uk. a vaccination hub in the east london borough of newham, an area with one of the lowest proportions of the population to have had a jab. so, how's it going today? 0ne local gp, dr farzana hussain, is working with colleagues to boost take—up, including phone calls to patients. newham's population is more than 70% bame — over 200 languages are spoken. she explained the challenge getting her message across. the

she explained the challenge getting her message across.— she explained the challenge getting her message across. the fact that we have many communities _ her message across. the fact that we have many communities is _ her message across. the fact that we have many communities is making i her message across. the fact that we | have many communities is making the issue a bit more complex. i think people have a few more questions. i think there's just been a real fear about, you know, "it's been rolled out very quickly, how can this be a safe vaccine?" but it isn't so much that people are resistant. i think they're just more fearful. so, the side—effects of this vaccine are very similar to the flu vaccine. louisa had a few concerns when she came in, but was pleased to have her vaccination. i was a bit scared because of the information that we have had on social media and everything. so, i was a bit scared. but it wasn't like that at all. venu had also heard negative stories about side effects, but that didn't stop him. i did step forward. and ifeel good now, satisfied that i came for it. research by the royal college of gps said that, while nearly 15% of white people had been vaccinated in england by early february, it was 9% of asian and just below 7%

among black communities. experts say there are many factors involved, and more action is needed. poverty, financial exclusion, but let's not also forget that some communities will have faced racism in the past. we need to build their confidence back that actually the health services are there and they have their back. right now, we need to focus on getting innovative ways to get the vaccine out to the doorsteps. the potential concern is that some will be left behind and become vulnerable, as the vaccination programme moves on. hugh pym, bbc news. now let's take a look at the latest official figures. there were 9,938 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. it means an average of 10,485 new cases were recorded per day in the last week. across the uk, an average of 16,803

people were in hospital with coronavirus over the seven days to sunday, including suspected cases in wales. in the last 2a hours, a42 deaths have been recorded — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. on average, 402 deaths were announced every day in the past week. the total number of people who've died is 121,747. now on to the vaccination programme. more than 326,000 people had their first dose of a vaccine in the latest 24—hour period. this means more than 18 million people have now had their first vaccination. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, is here. lets pick up on the vaccination figures because, in recent days, the numbers had dropped off a little. i

think it's generally agreed the overall vaccination programme in the uk has gone very well but the numbers this week were a bit lower than last week. the latest daily number of 326,000 compares with below 200,000 for the couple of days before that, and it hasn't been above 400,000 since last thursday. we always knew there might be supply issues linked to the pfizer plant in belgium, with an upgrade going on there. a senior health official said todayit there. a senior health official said today it might take a few months to get to a steady, routine for production. matt hancock, the health secretary, said supplies are lumpy, particularly for the week coming up, but should start picking up again in march. he has reiterated that the target of april the 15th is still there to get all over 50s vaccinated. doctorjenny harries, deputy chief medical officer for england, and said things are generally positive, but she had a cautionary note for children,

saying, as restrictions are eased, not automatically go out and hug their grandparents. she also said mosques might not be needed in the summer but could well have to make a return in the winter for top —— masks might not be needed. the organisers of the reading and leeds music festivals have said they will go ahead at the end of august. they've made the decision following the release of the government's road map for lifting the lockdown in england. both events had to be cancelled last summer because of the pandemic. new data has shown that a coronavirus vaccine made by the us multinational company johnson &johnson is safe and effective. large—scale trials of the single—shot injection also found it worked well against the brazilian and south african variants. it's expected to get an emergency licence in america this week. the uk has ordered 30 million doses. ghana in west africa has become the first country

to receive vaccines by means of the vaccine—sharing initiative known as covax. a delivery of 600,000 doses of the astrazeneca vaccine arrived in accra earlier today. the first recipients are set to be healthcare workers. the covax scheme aims to reduce the divide between rich countries and poorer nations, and the goal is to deliver some 2 billion doses globally by the end of the year. 0ur science editor, david shukman, reports. live coverage of a momentous delivery in ghana. the first coronavirus vaccines arriving as part of a massive global effort. a scheme known as covax that aims to reach 20% of people in the poorest countries with at least 2 billion doses, and this consignment isjust the start. the ambition to reach that first 20% and the 2 billion doses is to do so within this first year, so maybe within the next 12 months, let's say. but to go beyond that, i think the thinking is to achieve

that as fast as possible. these first doses are of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, made in india. many more will follow. but vaccinating the whole world is a daunting challenge. so what's the likely timeframe for vaccinating 75% of people in different countries? based on doses that have been ordered, that should happen this year in the uk and many other nations, nearly all of them relatively wealthy. it's likely to be next year for several dozen middle income countries like argentina and indonesia, but as things stand, it's set to be 2023 for the majority of african countries, and that's with all the vaccines that are being donated. and the longer it all takes, the greater the risk of new variants of the virus emerging. that's why there's such pressure for every country to get the vaccines. 0therwise we're going to be seeing a sort of vicious circle where one

part would be protected, and again, put at risk because new variants going to come and threaten the gains that have been obtained by vaccination. meanwhile, some governments see diplomatic value in vaccines. china is offering them around the world, such as here in senegal. russia is doing the same, even though the who has yet to approve them. but the hope is that all the initiatives will help to build up immunity as quickly as possible. david shukman, bbc news. the rift between the current first minister of scotland and snp leader nicola sturgeon and her predecessor, alex salmond, is getting increasingly bitter. at the heart of the conflict is how the scottish government, led by nicola sturgeon, handled allegations of sexual harassment made against mr salmond in 2018. mr salmond has accused nicola sturgeon of misleading parliament,

something she vehemently denies, and he's accused some of his former friends and colleagues of trying to expel him from public life. he's due to give evidence to a parliamentary inquiry on friday. 0ur scotland editor, sarah smith, is in glasgow with the latest. well, huw, you would think that now we are expecting alex salmond to appear in front of the holyrood inquiry on friday at nicola sturgeon next week, that that committee would be getting closer to finally getting the answers as to what went wrong with the scottish government's harassment investigation into alex salmond, but now politicians are questioning whether we will ever get to the truth, and they think that the they don't think that the committee is capable of getting to the truth. once the closest of friends as well as political allies, alex salmond and nicola sturgeon are now bitter enemies. he is accusing her of lying, and says her allies conspired to destroy him. as he was acquitted on all charges of sexual assault last year,

he said he would prove there had been a plot against him. as many of you will know, there are certain evidence that i would like to have seen led in this trial, but for a variety of reasons we were not able to do so. at some point, that information, that facts and that evidence will see the light of day. thank you very much indeed, thank you. evidence mr salmond has claimed was being hidden to shield some of the most powerful people in scotland. now the holyrood committee investigating the salmond affair will use its legal powers to compel the release of that evidence. nicola sturgeon vigorously denies that there was ever any sort of conspiracy. alex salmond, well, may be creating an alternative reality in which the organs of the state, notjust me and the snp and the civil service and the crown office and the police and women who came forward, were all part of some wild conspiracy against him for reasons i can't explain.

maybe that's easier than just accepting that at the root of all this mightjust have been issues in his own behaviour. in the scottish parliament, msps want to know why some parts of a written statement from alex salmond have been removed from public view. the government's most senior law officer denies this was a result of any political interference. the crown has, as i said a moment ago, no interest in interfering with or limiting the conduct of proceedings in this parliament. with so many serious and damaging allegations swirling around, the opposition say they are concerned the scottish parliament will not be able to hold the government to account. i think we've got to the stage where this is now beyond sturgeon versus salmond, beyond the women versus the system that let them down. this is now about the structure of the scottish institutions, the parliament, scottish democracy. this is the biggest crisis in our institution since devolution began. both alex salmond and nicola sturgeon will lay out

in detail their competing versions of events when they each give evidence under oath to the hollywood inquiry. he is scheduled to appear on friday, followed by the first minister next week. now, the scottish government absolutely deny that there has been any kind of collusion or interference with the prosecution service or with any other body during the course of this investigation into what went wrong with the government's sexual harassment investigation. they say that these suggestions are coming from opposition political parties who are simply playing politics with this inquiry. but this row is getting bigger, it is getting nastier every day. and remember, it's all happening when we are just a few weeks away from very important elections to the scottish parliament. sarah, many thanks again for bringing us up—to—date there. sarah smith, our scotland editor.

police in california say golfer tiger woods was involved in a "serious car accident" and confirm no charges will be brought against him. the 45—year—old is said to be "awake, responsive and recovering" after emergency surgery to mend a shattered ankle and compound leg fractures. police say he's lucky to be alive — and, inevitably, questions are already being asked about the prospect of seeing him play again. 0ur correspondent sophie long reports from los angeles. this is what remains of the luxury suv tiger woods was driving. it is, authorities say, remarkable he survived. is anyone trapped in the vehicle or is the vehicle on fire? no. he was travelling at speed when it hit the central reservation, flipped, struck a tree and rolled multiple times before those leading the investigation say reckless driving was not the cause.

there was no evidence of anything like that, there was no evidence of any intoxication. this is what it is, an accident. the golfing legend was pulled from the wreckage conscious, but with severe leg injuries. this, the latest dramatic turn in one of the most compelling stories in professional golf. how's that for a finish? in a remarkable career, he transcended sport to become a global icon. tiger woods made golf cool, and he's definitely a reason why most of us are professional golfers now. but there have been great personal lows. a high—profile marriage breakdown, long struggles with injury. in 2017, he pleaded guilty to reckless driving after being found asleep at the wheel of his car. but it made his victory at the masters in 2019 all the more miraculous. one of the greatest sporting comebacks ever. but the challenge he faces now could be the greatest yet. just days ago, he was happily advising other celebrities on their swing.

advising other celebrities on their swina. ., �* , but the challenge he faces now could be the greatest yet. to go 11 years between winning majors is pretty rare, very off the charts. but to go through what he went through, the physical struggles, four surgeries by that time to rebuild his golf game, obviously the life struggles as well, to maintain your nerve to come back. as we know by now, he has extraordinary mind strength. among the millions of well—wishers, former us president barack 0bama sent prayers to tiger woods and his family. he said, if we've learned anything over the years, it's never to count tiger out. tennis star serena williams said, love you, big brother, we will get through this. after a long emergency surgery, he is now said to be responsive and recovering. tiger woods has proved anything is possible. but for a man so used to winning, simply playing golf again could be his biggest victory yet.

well, tiger woods underwent hours of emergency surgery here during which they inserted a rod into his leg and used pins and screws to stabilise his foot and ankle. after the initial shock there is some relief that he does appear to be recovering, but the severity of his injuries has left some fans wondering whether they will ever see one of the world's greatest golfers strike down the fairways again. sophie, thank you for the update. sophie, thank you for the update. sophie long in los angeles. a charity working with victims of domestic abuse says that calls to its helpline have increased by more than 50% in the past year. the lockdown has meant that some women have felt trapped at home with violent and abusive partners, and support workers say they are seeing more cases of serious injury. this report by our correspondent, jeremy cooke, includes some distressing details. lockdown britain — staying at home to stay safe. he got me by the throat and nearly killed me.

but what if staying at home means staying in danger? i was always scared. i was scared of how he'd react. the pandemic has meant some victims feeling trapped at home with abusive partners. the incidents are more serious. that escalation has probably been at a faster rate than we have probably previously ever seen. we've never seen anything like it. not, certainly, in my lifetime. hello, domestic violence helpline... busy times for the support workers at wearside women in need. where are you? are you somewhere safe? lockdown is making it much harder to give face—to—face support. he's outside? 0k. so, we're seeing how the helpline has become a lifeline. they've seen a 56% increase in calls during the pandemic. this one is sounding urgent.

has he been physically violent before? all right, bye—bye. bye— bye. 0k. that was a call for help, wasn't it? it was. it was a woman who would like refuge space. she had to wait for her husband just to step outside before she could make that call? she said, "he's outside the house," yes. did she sound frightened? yes, she did sound frightened. i think she sounds very anxious, because she knows she needs to leave. so your worst fear is losing your child, and that's why he's using the threat. how long was he in prison for? lockdown can leave victims feeling trapped. women like rebecca, worried for her kids, worried for her own safety. i was isolated, because we were obviously in lockdown. she asked her abusive partner to leave. he refused to go. it was very, very difficult. because i was trying to home—school my youngest daughter as well, and i was working from home. you are all in a house together, and you can't go anywhere and get away from it.

it was incredibly difficult. so many women needing help. for helen's caller, there's good news. it's a lovely, lovely home. a place in a refuge, starting now. you're welcome. take care. see you later, goodbye. how did she sound when you told her there was a place? yeah, she said, "thank you very much, i really appreciate it." "i just need to get out of here." it'll be a weight off her shoulders, for sure? absolutely. as lockdown pushes domestic abuse still further into the shadows, we're all being urged to look out for those who may be in danger. they actually sat down and ended up writing down everything that had happened that could make some understanding of it. and what sort of things were you saying? things like... ..raping me. erm... strangling me. threatening to hit me all the time. people will want to know — are you going to be ok? yeah.

because there's no chaos any more. and i can see happier times. there is a clear message to those suffering domestic abuse. the lockdown rules say that you can get help, you can get out and go to a place of safety. jeremy cooke, bbc news, sunderland. details of organisations offering information and support with domestic violence are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call free at any time to hear recorded information on 0800 888 809. cricket, and it's been a terrible opening day for england's batsmen in the third test against india in ahmedabad. the tourists crumbled to just 112 all—out,

despite winning the toss and choosing to bat. spin bowler axar patel inflicted much of the damage, taking six wickets. in theirfirst innings, india had reached 99—3 by the close. to football, and manchester city have beaten borussia monchengladbach in the champions league for their 19th successive victory. bernardo silva's header opened the scoring in the first half, but it was gabrieljesus who doubled their lead after silva headed it across goal in the first leg of their last 16 tie in budapest. a painting by vincent van gogh not seen in public for more than a century has been shown in paris, ahead of a sale by auction. the picture, called street scene in montmartre, has been in private hands since 1920. it's to be put on display in amsterdam and in hong kong before being sold by sotheby�*s in paris

in march, when its expected to fetch at least £6 million.