Shocking figures reveal up to 50,000 children a week have been absent from Greater Manchester schools during Covid

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.

direct to your inboxA massive 35,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have already been distributed across Greater Manchester – and more are set to follow.Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham gave a press conference this morning (Thursday) and announced the plan for the region’s vaccine distribution.He said 12,000 of the vaccines already provided were given at hospital hubs and 23,000 via the region’s primary care network.Mr Burnham said 25 per cent of Greater Manchester’s new coronavirus cases

direct to your inboxDoctors and paramedics say they are bracing themselves for a new tide of Covid patients to hit Greater Manchester's hospitals within weeks. Speaking as plans for the region's move to Tier 4 were announced and the return to school for secondary pupils was delayed, Dr Carole Gavin, a consultant in Greater Manchester, said concerns were growing as hospitals in the south battle to find beds as infection rates - largely found to be caused by the new mutant strain - rise.

direct to your inboxA Greater Manchester Police chief has urged people to stay at home in Tier 4 tomorrow night instead of celebrating New Year's Eve as they normally would. Under Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions, people are required by law to remain at home unless they need to leave their home for essential reasons.

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direct to your inboxIt has been an extraordinary year, with the coronavirus pandemic hitting the criminal justice system hard.Jury trials were stopped for about two months from March to May, as the country went into national lockdown and cases of coronavirus surged.And the virus shut Manchester Crown Court for weeks, with a spate of cases requiring further investigation.The pandemic has also exacerbated delays in bringing cases before the courts.Nonetheless, the M.E.N.

we decided to share her story to highlight the struggle many families have faced this year.The mum, from Bolton, agreed to go by the name of Tina, as she didn't want those closest to her to know how badly she was coping.Her story resonated with so many of our readers, and we were overwhelmed by the number of people who got in touch offering to help Tina. A gofundme page was set up with the aim of raising £500 to help Tina and her husband buy Christmas presents for their children this year.

direct to your inboxTwo men from Greater Manchester who won £20,000 on the hit BBC show Race Across the World have donated their prize money to charity.Emon Choudhury, 36, from Stockport, beat four other teams to win the race alongside his nephew Jamiul Choudhury, 25, from Oldham.The pair beat the odds to complete an epic 54-day journey from Mexico City to the south of Argentina for the second series of the BBC2 show.On their travels, the men were visibly moved by the number of homeless children

direct to your inbox Here is the latest update of the rolling seven-day rate of new cases of coronavirus for every local authority area in England and how Greater Manchester compares to the rest of the country.

direct to your inboxTameside now has the most places with hardly any cases of Covid-19 in Greater Manchester.The borough’s council boss says the explanation is simple – everyone has ‘played their part’.The latest hyper-local neighbourhood data shows that there are five areas of the borough which saw two or fewer cases in the last week.Ashton North, Audenshaw, Hurst Cross, Denton East and Dukinfield West all saw either two, one or no new infections in the seven days to December 11 according to

direct to your inboxThe mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has slammed the government’s decision to keep the region under the toughest coronavirus restrictions.Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester this afternoon, he said: “The average for all of Greater Manchester is lower than Liverpool and London when they went into tier 2.“I don’t think they’ve got the balance right at all here, so I understand the frustration, but let’s not take it out on the NHS.“We’ve got to follow those rules and it