Nothing less than full-time return of classes in September is acceptable

However, within 24 hours education minister Peter Weir, first during an interview on BBC’s Talkback, warned that many pupils will only be back part-time in the autumn with some schools unable to operate at full capacity because of social distancing restrictions.

There are questions to answer about the latest twist in a damaging saga. Was there a breakdown in communication at the executive or was it Mr Weir and the Department of Education caving in after outcry at the teachers’ union?

Education leaders and politicians need to acknowledge that part-time education, be it one, two or even three days a week, and supplemented by home-schooling, will not be enough for long-suffering children.

What makes this even more uncomfortable for Mr Weir is that as he made an apparent u-turn on behalf of Stormont, Gavin Williamson, the UK education secretary, was declaring that all pupils at schools in England will return to the classroom full-time in September.

Mr Weir, and indeed Mrs Foster and Ms O’Neill, need to sort out the confusion and get all of our children back full-time in September before the damage to their education becomes irreparable.