Greater Manchester primary school says “it is not safe” for pupils to return tomorrow and they won't be opening

Bolton chef decided to cook up some affordable 'school dinners' and share his recipes, following the controversy about 'woefully inadequate' food parcels in parts of Greater Manchester. Gareth Mason, who recently went viral for his 'three-tier' fish, chips and mushy peas pie, decided to visit Aldi and see how many ingredients he could buy for £20.

Wigan is now emerging as a property hotspot.

direct to your inboxInfection rates are continuing to fall across every Greater Manchester borough.Each of the region’s ten boroughs are below England's average of 452.5 per 100,000 people in the week ending January 18.Only the city of Manchester has a rate above 400 and Oldham - which once had the highest rates in the country - is now sitting at 282.6 cases per 100,000 people for the same time period.Here in Greater Manchester, the borough of Trafford had the biggest drop in cases in the seven

direct to your inboxThe Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is to open emergency Covid beds for adults in a sign of the unprecedented pressure facing Greater Manchester’s hospitals.Sir Richard Leese, the region’s health chief, said the situation in the system was now ‘critical’ as NHS bosses have scrambled to discharge as many people as possible ahead of a sustained peak over the coming three weeks.Crisis meetings have been held to determine the ability to scale up beds, as Salford Royal and

direct to your inboxThe NHS has sadly confirmed the deaths of 29 more patients in hospitals in Greater Manchester who had tested positive for Covid-19.The region's hospital death toll now stands at 4,757.NHS bosses said on Friday a further 993 people who tested positive for the virus have died in hospitals across England.It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 65,104.In the north west, a further 94 hospital deaths were reported, the NHS said on Friday.A

direct to your inboxThe last 24 hours has seen multiple deluges of rain, inches of snow, roads and homes collapsing, and a slew of serious car crashes as the region was 'just centimetres' away from disaster. In the wake of Storm Christoph hitting Greater Manchester, the city's Fire and Rescue Service chief has spoken out about a day, night and further day filled with drama.

Bolton is currently the only borough in Greater Manchester where cases of the virus are still on the rise.

direct to your inboxA flood 'alert' has been put in force in Greater Manchester today after hours of heavy rainfall overnight.The alert warns of 'possible' flooding around the area of the middle River Mersey catchment area.It includes areas near Bramhall in Stockport, Sale, Altrincham and Urmston.The Environment Agency warned: "Flooding is possible - be prepared."And Transport for Greater Manchester said: "With heavy rain in Greater Manchester this morning, expect flooding in some areas.

direct to your inboxManchester Evening News readers are overwhelmingly in favour of the return to a full lockdown, according to our latest survey.A survey of 8,751 people on the site found 81 per cent of those who responded agreed with measures introduced on Monday (January 4).People in Greater Manchester were less likely to be in favour of full lockdown than others across England, based on surveys across Reach's national and regional websites, with 85pc overall backing the full lockdown.The

direct to your inboxA Greater Manchester Police officer who repeatedly sexually assaulted a young girl has been jailed.Farooq Ahmed, 37, walked into a police station with a confession note before Christmas.

Follow our dedicated live blog here The ones that are closed are providing places for key worker and vulnerable children, as they did during the first lockdown. If your child's school has closed, get in touch with us on our Manchester Family Facebook page here, let us know in the comments here, or email [email protected]. These are the schools that have closed by boroughMount Carmel RC, BlakleyOswald Road Primary, ChorltonSt Peter's Catholic Primary, WythenshaweBirchfields Primary,

Follow our dedicated live blog hereThe ones that are closed are providing places for key worker and vulnerable children, as they did during the first lockdown.And some that were due to reopen later this week are warning parents they'll be staying closed.If your child's school has closed, get in touch with us on our Manchester Family Facebook page here, let us know in the comments here, or email [email protected] are the schools that have closed by boroughMount Carmel RC, BlakleyOswald

direct to your inboxIn a matter of hours, schools will be reopening their doors to begin the spring term, but thousands of teachers, support staff and parents don't know whether they should be returning or not.Earlier this week, the education secretary Gavin Williamson backtracked on earlier decisions and said secondary schools will have an extra week's holiday before a staggered return.Some primary schools in London were told not to reopen but then Mr Williamson performed another U-turn after

direct to your inboxParents have been left angry and frustrated after Boris Johnson insisted that primary schools were safe despite ongoing pressure to keep them closed.Primaries are due to reopen in Tier 4 areas except London tomorrow despite growing concerns about a new variant of coronavirus.Unions, teachers and scientists have urged the government to delay the reopening to curb mounting transmission rates.

direct to your inboxParents and children have been left in limbo ahead of the imminent reopening of primary schools and the risk posed by the new strain of COVID-19.It's understood that primaries in Greater Manchester will open as planned on Monday - despite action being taken to keep kids at home in other Tier 4 areas.It comes as the National Education Union (NEU), the UK's largest teaching union, told its members that it is unsafe for them to go back to work on Monday.The NEU is one of several

direct to your inboxPrimary schools in London will remain closed following a government U-turn.It comes after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced 50 education authorities in the south of England would be closed to primary school pupils for the first two weeks of term.The list failed to encompass several school areas in London, where Covid-19 rates remain alarmingly high as the new strain continues to spread across the country.Latest scientific advice warns that the new strain variant

direct to your inboxThe streets were empty as Greater Manchester said goodbye to 2020 and ushered in a new year - but many were determined to keep alive at least one tradition.Our video from Werneth Low shows how many parts of Greater Manchester were ablaze with colour as people set off fireworks at midnight to celebrate the arrival of 2021.Around 200 socially distanced people gathered on the popular spot to watch the moment our region said goodbye to 2020 and ushered in the New Year.Car horns

direct to your inboxIt has been a year like no other.However Great Mancunians have still made headlines across the world, for all sorts of reasons.Here we look at those who have put the region on the map in 2020, a year we will never forget.2020 has undoubtedly belonged to Manchester United and England star Marcus Rashford.However it is his incredible work off the pitch which has made the headlines, even more than his impressive goal-scoring feats on it.The Withington-born and Wythenshawe raised

direct to your inboxWhen the new term starts next week for primary schools, headteacher Ruth Vayro knows some parents will keep their children at home."Our families do trust us at St Ambrose to keep children safe but I'm sure some parents will take the decision not to return their children to school because they just don't know."Parents will be concerned just as they are in London and Greater London."I completely empathise with parents - I'm a parent.

direct to your inbox"It's absolutely gut-wrenching."Hair salon owner Jane Nixon describes how she felt as Matt Hancock announced that Greater Manchester would be moving into Tier 4.And it's a feeling thousands of business owners across the region will be familiar with.A change in restrictions, businesses finally being allowed to open then being forced to shut again just a few weeks later.