England risks leaving children behind with delays over coronavirus restrictions

England's children's commissioner on Monday said the country was in danger of "leaving children behind" if they are not able to return school before September.

Anne Longfield made the comments amid reports that the UK government may delay the lifting of coronavirus restrictions on schools until after the summer holidays.

Speaking to British broadcaster Sky, Longfield said she was "really disappointed for those children who expect to go back to school and needed to go back to school".

She argued that the government had done "remarkable things" with healthcare and the economy in response to the new coronavirus pandemic, but that while "the economy is clearly very important, but so is education for children, too."

Under current guidelines in England, only children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 school groups have been allowed back to in-person education.

However, Longfield admitted that ensuring the safety of children amid the pandemic was not straightforward.

"The practicalities are immense. You need twice as many classrooms potentially, and you need twice as many teachers or teaching staff there. So there are two things that the schools themselves can't resolve", she said.