Schools in england prepare to re open their classrooms to pupils after almost six months at home. The government says schools are safe to return to, teachers say theyre ready too. Were just looking forward to getting back to seeing them and doing what we do best, and teaching, with them in the classroom with us. Also on the programme tonight. British holidaymakers scamble forflights home from portugal amid growing concerns it is about to be put back back on the quarantine less than two weeks after it was taken off. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, sets out how she plans to pave the way for a second independence referendum. President trump is on his way to kenosha in wisconisn, his first visit since violent protests following the Police Shooting of a black man, jacob blake. And 75 years after the official end of world war ii, huw edwards retraces his grandfathers footsteps back to a prisoner of war camp. And coming up in sport on bbc news. The latest from the us open, as andy murray returns to grand slam action for the First Time Since january last year. Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. Preparations are under way at schools in england to welcome back pupils after nearly six months out of the classroom. The education secretary gavin williamson, speaking in the commons, said students were returning to a safe environment and said the re opening of schools was a massive milestone after the closure of classrooms during lockdown. Teachers returned today with most children due back tomorrow, thursday and friday. Heres our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. Ki rsty kirsty is getting ready for the new term, to welcome her class back to lessons and sending her own son back to his school. As a teacher and pa rent to his school. As a teacher and parent i am really happy for my son to return. He is really excited to see his friends and just getting stuck back in with the learning. We can leave this one here, this is releva nt can leave this one here, this is relevant and helpful. From morning drop off onwards it is all changing. Signs warning parents they cannot come beyond the gates. For the head and extra cost to making the school say. Things like sanitiser, soap, paper towels, tissues, we have to have an awful lot of that if you think we are going to have 400 plus children washing their hands at least six times a day. Ava is getting ready to start secondary school, her mum a bit worried but trying to stay positive. She is not worried about starting school, she is worried about the covid i9 preparations and if she will be behind in her work and not the actual start of school. Today on their first day back in parliament, mps were told schools are safe, education is the priority. As they return, pupils will be kept inconsistent groups and older children will be encouraged to distance wherever possible. At a minimum this will mean keeping whole year groups minimum this will mean keeping whole yeargroups in minimum this will mean keeping whole year groups in schools and colleges separate. This is in addition to the other protective measures. So what happens if a case is confirmed . Schools will have to ask close contacts schools will have to ask close co nta cts of schools will have to ask close contacts of the person who has tested positive to self isolate. Close contact means face to face contact within a metre of the infected person for more than 15 minutes, or direct skin to skin contact. Proximity contact, that is more than 50 minutes under two metres from the infected person. And travelling in a small vehicle like a car with an infected person. Local Health Officials will help identify these contents. Lets go, well done. In the summera these contents. Lets go, well done. In the summer a sample of englands pupils were tested. This week, a call for regular testing of teachers from the former health secretary. Where we need to do more is testing of people who are asymptomatic but could transmit the virus easily to other people, people in hospitals and teachers. In this back to school week parents would be immensely reassured if they knew that teachers we re reassured if they knew that teachers were being tested twice a week. Scotlands schools reopened in august. In their second week more than 17,000 pupils were tested. Only 39 of those tested positive. So, will that reassure englands pa rents . Will that reassure englands parents . That will not be clear until the end of next week when all schools and year groups have returned. Schools and year groups have returned. Mps were back in Parliament Today after the recess, and the Prime Minister, boris johnson, held his first cabinet meeting, insisting the country was getting back on its feet as it emerges from lockdown. Alex forsyth looks at the challenges facing the government this autumn. It was all brisk strides and smiles this morning, but they know they have got their work cut out now they are back in westminster. Ministers may be facing full inboxes. Are back in westminster. Ministers may be facing full inboxesm are back in westminster. Ministers may be facing full inboxes. It is nice to be back. With some so excited there were social distancing slip ups. And with the cabinet back at their desks, the Prime Minister sounded optimistic despite so much still uncertain. People are going back to the office in huge numbers across our back to the office in huge numbers across oui country back to the office in huge numbers across our country and quite right as well. We know there is still going to be more of this disease still to come and bit by bit this incredible country is getting back on its feet. That is the hope for number ten, but there are big challenges ahead. There is already concern on the tory benches about how some things have been handled this summer, so key tests for the autumn include keeping schools open safely and how ministers manage the message around getting people back to the office. It is the beginning of the week and off to westminster. Mask ready, hand sanitiser ready, off we go. As mps headed back to parliament, others were urged to go back to their workplaces were safe. Ministers are mindful of the economic toll this virus is taking. As ever, it is a balance of risk, which some, but not all, that the government is getting right. Which some, but not all, that the government is getting rightm which some, but not all, that the government is getting right. It is great that as many people can get back to work, get into the offices again. I am looking forward to getting stuck in, to holding this government to account in parliament. Top of hisjobless, government to account in parliament. Top of his jobless, preparation for the winter months with coronavirus still present. The best Case Scenario remains a vaccine this year. While no Vaccine Technology is certain, since the house at last met vaccine trials have gone well. To get through this winter safely, our nhs and Public Health services need resources and staff need ppe, fair pay, security and support. This remains a health crisis, but it has caused Major Economic problems as well. There has been Big Government spending on support for businesses and jobs and that has to be paid for, so expect a tory party row about exactly how. And that is before we get to brexit, where there is still no breakthrough in talks with the eu about a trade deal that would need to be in place by the end of the year. So there is no underestimating their workload, and with the countrys health and wealth at stake, there is little room for error. The latest government figures show there were 1,295 new confirmed coronavirus cases across the uk, in the latest 24 hour period. That means the average number of new cases per day in the last week has been 1,339. The deaths of three people were also reported, thats those who have died within 28 days of a positive covid 19 test. On average in the past week, eight deaths have been announced each day. That means the total number across the uk is now 41,504. Less than two weeks after portugal was taken off the uks quarantine list, theres a scramble for flights home amid fears that quarantine rules will be reimposed from this weekend. Coronavirus cases have risen sharply in portugal. Our transport correspondent tom burridge is at heathrow for us now. Tom, a lot of confusion for travellers . Yes, really fast moving situation tonight. Firstly, portugal. That country has moved beyond the uks benchmark of 20 cases per 100,000 people. Other countries passed that marker have had quarantine reimposed. The uk government should make an announcement by thursday, but the bbc has been told that the Scottish Government is considering doing so before then. On greece, the uk government is concerned about the situation there, but we have learnt tonight from an aviation source that the Welsh Government is looking at bringing in testing at Cardiff Airport for all arrivals in from greece. Remember the flight from za nte last greece. Remember the flight from zante last week into cardiff . 16 passengers on board tested positive for covid19. Passengers on board tested positive for covid 19. Airports like heathrow have been calling on the uk government to bring in testing at airports for months so people could leave quarantine early. But because of the situation of the santee flight, it of the situation of the santee flight, it looks like cardiff is trying to do that with the Welsh Government as soon as possible. Nicola sturgeon has announced a tightening of restrictions on glasgow, and west dunbartonshire. What more can you tell us . The last 24 hours we have had 66 new confirmed cases in the Greater Glasgow and clyde area. The three Council Areas that are affected are glasgow, East Renfrewshire and west dunbartonshire. The restrictions will come in from midnight tonight, meaning that there will be limits on household meetings. Nobody will be allowed to meet other households indoors. The other restriction coming in is that anyone who is identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive, the whole household will now have to isolate and there will be limits on ca re isolate and there will be limits on care home and hospital visits. They will be restricted to essential visits only. Relief for the hospitality sector, buyers will stay open, unlike the situation in aberdeen last month. We expect these latest restrictions to be reviewed in the next week. Katie hunter with the latest. Katie hunter with the latest. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced that her government will publish a bill setting out the timings and terms for a second independence referendum. It would need permission from westminster before it can take place. With more details, here is our scotland correspondent lorna gordon. It is six years since voters here had their say on whether scotland should become an independent country. Today Nicola Sturgeon saying that opportunity should come again and it will be at the heart of the Scottish Government plans for the Scottish Government plans for the year ahead. Before the end of this parliament we will publish a d raft this parliament we will publish a draft bill setting out the proposed terms and timing of an independence referendum, as well as the proposed question that people will be asked in that referendum. Opposition parties not impressed, saying the Scottish Government has got its priorities wrong. One of the best and biggest ways to help people back into work is to sort out childcare andl into work is to sort out childcare and i think it was sadly typical of this government today that their commitment to child care is delayed, but the commitment to a referendum bill is front and centre. These are not normal times and we were told this would not be a normal programme for government. Dealing with covid19 for government. Dealing with covid 19 was front and centre. The proposed draft bill for another referendum has been the point which has captured much of the attention. But it is by no means a done deal. The uk government has to agree to such a vote and the Prime Minister has repeatedly stated that he is opposed to a referendum taking place. Other policies and ideas in the programme for government included a guarantee to everyone aged between 16 and 24 of a job, education orformal aged between 16 and 24 of a job, education or formal training. Aged between 16 and 24 of a job, education orformal training. A promise to scottish tile payment to every eligible family starting in february next year. It also included plans to look at creating a national ca re plans to look at creating a National Care service to work alongside the nhs. With some shop shattered and business curtailed as a result of the pandemic, Nicola Sturgeon reiterated that for now the most pressing concern remains covid 19 as well as tackling the economic fallout it brings. But a number of polls have recently suggested majority in favour of independence. With another election on the horizon, the arguments over whether scotla nd horizon, the arguments over whether scotland should become independent look to play a role again. President trump is on his way to kenosha in wisconsin after a week of violent protests in the city following the Police Shooting a black man called jacob blake. In the following days, two people died when armed protestors took to the streets in defence of the police. Before boarding the flight, the president blamed his political opponents for the unrest and said he was travelling to wisconsin to support law enforcement. Our north america correspondent Aleem Maqbool is there. Aleem. Yes, and things had calmed down here in kenosha. There were fears a visit by the president could reignite tensions and indeed with less than an houruntil he tensions and indeed with less than an hour until he is due to arrive we have had people take to the streets again. On the side a group of black lives matter protesters and on the other side are Trump Supporters with signs like, thank you mr president. He is claiming credit for calming things down, but he has caused controversy by appearing to defend the 17 year old who, last week, shot dead two protesters. Since the shooting of jacob blake, the city has been in turmoil. The worst night of trouble ended with two demonstrators dead, shot by a 17 year old vigilante, kyle rittenhouse, who happened to be a supporter of donald trump. The president was asked to condemn his actions, but didnt. He was trying to get away from them, i guess it looks like. And he fell and then they very violently attacked him and it was something that we are looking at right now and is under investigation, but i guess he was in very big trouble. He probably would have been killed. The two people who were killed were Anthony Huber and joseph rosenbaum. A third man was injured. Kyle rittenhouse has been charged with murder. Even the man who organised the vigilante action is now distancing himself from the shooter. There is nobody really responsible for his actions except him, right . He chose to. You put out a call for people to come out on the streets and arm themselves. My call was made for us folks that live here to protect our own communities. But the president has decided on aggressive law and order messaging ahead of the election. When he visits here he will be surveying damage to buildings and meeting police. One of the reasons i am making the trip today and going to wisconsin is weve had such a big success in shutting down what would be right now a city that would have been kenosha, a city that would have been burnt to the ground by now. He wont be seeing the family ofjacob blake. They say in any case they dont want to meet a man who they have called racist. Aleem maqbool, bbc news, in kenosha, wisconsin. Our top story this evening. Schools in england prepare for re opening after classrooms were closed because of the pandemic. Tighter restrictions have been announced in parts of scotland after announced in parts of scotland after a rise in covid cases. And coming up on sportsday on bbc news englands cricketers look to wrap up a series win against pakistan in the final t20 at old trafford. The Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford has joined forces with some of the countrys biggest food brands in a bid to reduce child food poverty. He successfully campaigned to extend Free School Meals this summer and he has now written to mps outlining the help he feels some families still need. Our correspondent sally nugent has been speaking to him. Go on, get it. 0h for the footballer Marcus Rashford, this is a deeply personal project. Im a single parent. Yeah. Itjust helped him so much with getting food for himself. Thank you. Its no problem. No problem. I thinkjust to see the smiles on their faces and to see how much it has helped them made me happy to see that, actually with my own eyes. Its a stigma. They look at it as, well, who goes to food banks . Who goes to these places . They look down on it, but with you speaking about it and saying youve been through it, thats given another family confidence. Ok, hes gone through it. Its only a situation, we can pass it and i can ask for that help. Marcus has spent the summer thinking about what he wants to do next. We pretty much knew straight away that wed found a short term solution, but that wasnt going to work in the long run, so we had to think about, how is the best way to do it so that these families can eat long term and not have any issues . Hello, everyone. Can everybody hear me . Some of the biggest brands in the country are on this call. Most have now signed up to rashfords task force. Theyre supporting these proposals from the National Food strategy expanding Free School Meals to every child from a household on universal credit or similar benefits. Providing holiday food and activities for all children on Free School Meals. Increasing healthy start food vouchers from £3. 10 to £4. 25 per week. Henry dimbleby is leading the review and spoke at the start of the call. Its important because the alternative to a school lunch is packed lunch, and only 1 of packed lunches have the nutritional value of a school meal. And if you look at packed lunches as children get less affluent, those packed lunches have increasingly low nutritional value. Im learning so much whilst im on the call. Theyre giving me figures that have sent me a bit, like, wow now the footballer has written to the Prime Minister, thanking him for the u turn over Free School Meals in the Summer Holidays back in june. In a very personal letter, drawing on his own experiences as a child, he outlines the extra help he feels some families still need now more than ever. Sally nugent, bbc news, manchester. The governments furlough scheme, which supported over 9 millionjobs at its peak, is winding down from today. Since march, furloughed workers put on leave have been paid 80 of their salaries up to a cap of £2,500 a month and that bill has been paid by the government. From today, employers will have to pay 10 of their staff salaries if they want to keep them on the books. The government will pick up the other 70 . Workers on furlough are still guarenteed 80 of their salary in total. And next month, the governments contribution will fall again to 60 of wages, with Companies Paying in 20 of the bill. The furlough scheme finishes completely at the end of october. Our business editor, simonjack, reports. Ave maria. The performances may look beautiful. But ultimately, this is a business, and the finances look ugly. Even when it reopens, sadlers wells will be grappling with a massive reduction in capacity, which means the sums just dont add up. For our sector, at the moment, we can do socially distanced performances, which means we cut our capacity down to 30 . Now, that doesnt work economically. As Government Support wears off, the pressure piles on, and thats why the company is laying off over 200 part time employees and 50 permanentjobs are risk. When were looking at our budget for this year and you take 80 out of the income stream and you look at the figures, then you go further and further into the red as each month goes, as the furloughing scheme stops. So, at this point, we have to make decisions about whether were actually going to survive or not. This is an important moment for the government. Its when it begins, in earnest, to start peeling back the plasters it has put on the economy to save it from damage peel it back, see just how deep the economic damage is. But with the economy far from back in full health, for many people, this is way too fast and way too painful. Its too soon to turn off the tap. We need a plan forjobs. And working our way out of this crisis is the best way to ensure that workers are spending their money locally, paying taxes, and that we, step by step, begin to reopen the economy and build our way back. The furlough scheme has worked. Its kept millions of people employed during the crisis. Its worked so well, france and germany are extending their schemes well into next year, but the chancellor has been clear the uk scheme will be over at the end of october. Business groups say he needs to be more flexible. The chancellor has been deft. He needs to show that same deftness going forward. Look at the evidence, see whats happening in the economy and think about how you might whether its extend furlough or look at other grants, vat relief, business rates, National Insurance because jobs saved now are so much better value than dealing with a huge level of unemployment in the future. Employers who keep staff on till next year get a £1,000 bonus and the government is subsidising the wages of hundreds of thousands of Young Workers in its kick starter scheme, but from next month, employers will have to pay 20 of their furloughed employees wages. That will be another moment of truth. Simon jack, bbc news. Asda, tesco, sainsburys all the big supermarkets have been selling food online for years now, except marks and spencer. Today, m s finally entered the world of delivering to your door. Theyve teamed up with the online grocer ocado. Our Business Correspondent emma simpson has more. It is upmarket food, often seen as a bit of a treat or a top up, but what about a full family shop . M s is now after a bigger share of the uks grocery basket. Its now, finally, online. These, the first customer orders being dispatched early this morning. But catching up with its rivals doesnt come cheap. M s is spending three quarters of a billion on this deal with ocado. It wants to double food sales to help drive its recovery. This is a transformative moment for the m s food business. We want to grow this business, but what is critical is for the first time customers will be able to see that full range online of the m s products, but also be able to see our value coming through in the prices. M s food has a reputation for being expensive. It has been cutting prices and adding hundreds of new products. Its really going for it on groceries now, but will this online gamble pay off . One big question, what will ocado shoppers do if they cannot shoppers do if they cant buy waitrose products . We spoke to a few of them. Are you going to switch or stick . Switch. Stick. Switch. I cant see people doing a full shop at m s, no, i dont think so, not the essentials. I do love going to my local m s. Im excited i will be able to get that delivered to my front door. Waitrose is fighting back, investing heavily in its online operations. All retailers have. This market has almost doubled since the pandemic and amazon is about to pile on the pressure, ramping up its food service as well. Ocado said a very small number of orders had to be cancelled today because of a surge in demand. Early days, but there is an awful lot riding on this for m s, though, as it tries to turn its business around. Emma simpson, bbc news. This week marks the 75th anniversary of the official end of world war two. It ended almost six years of global conflict, the deadliest in human which claimed the lives of more than 80 million people. As part of a series highlighting the different roles people played, huw edwards tells the story of his grandfather, a merchant seaman who risked his life in the atlantic convoys. The story begins in the tiny Seaside Village of llanddewi aberarth, on the coastline of ceredigion. This is where id come to visit my grandparents, and this is the little house where they lived. Nothing much has changed in the main street. And you can see their house in the background to this family photo, which was taken after the war at my grandfathers return after four years away. Hed gone to sea in the first instance at the age of 14, in 1920. It was the natural thing to do for the boys in the village. But as he told me many years later, never could he have imagined that that first voyage as a merchant seaman would lead eventually to three years in a german prisoner of war camp. Newsreel this is a story of the men who braved of the men who braved the dangers of the sea to bring us our daily bread. The amount of the Merchant Navy faced a terrifying danger as they kept britain supplied with food and raw materials. All too often, they were easy targets for the german battleships and u boats. To get on a ship voyage after voyage, knowing potentially what might happen, and realising it might be your last voyage, and some of the things they must have seen as well, even if it was other ships being sunk, those men are heroes. In early 1941, my grandfather was working on the ss stanpark. They had picked up supplies at cape town, and they were heading home when they met with disaster off the coast of west africa. The convoy had been spotted by a german battleship called the admiral scheer. My grandfathers ship was sunk and he and the crew were taken back to bordeaux in france before being sent onto a prisoner of war camp in germany. And this is the site of that camp at sandbostel, and im the first member of my family to retrace some of his steps. Ive been waiting, i suppose, 40 years to see this, since i first was aware of my grandfathers story. So, to come here today and to see where he spent a part of his life, a very difficult part of his life, is, i have to say, its quite overwhelming. I was shown around by the local historian and guide, who explained the layout of the camp to me. These huts were meant to be, like, 250 prisoners of war in each hut. And then four huts had to use one latrine. So. But when some prisoners of war were here, those huts were highly overcrowded. So, how many do you think would have been in there at that time . Nearly 400. Wow. In fact, more than 300,000 prisoners, of 55 nationalities, were held here during the war. This is an example of a hut from the first generation of huts here. So, when my grandfather came here, it would have been in a very similar building to this . Yes. Butjust a few metres away . After a period at sandbostel, my grandfather and his fellow prisoners were marched some 15 miles away to a place called westertimke, where they built another camp, called milag nord. But all that remains of that camp today is this memorial to the 5,000 merchant seamen who were held here. How many of them would stop at this memorial, do you think . But thats not the only memorial to the Merchant Navy, of course, the most prominent of which is here in greenwich, a reminder of the dangers the men faced. Youve a 50 chance of not making it at these peak points in the conflict. And conditions would be poor, your pay was poor, and your recognition was also not up there with the armed forces. Without the Merchant Navy, we would not have won world war ii. Its as simple as that. My grandfather did make it home to west wales before the end of the war, and despite fragile health, he lived to the age of 85. Always modest, always ha rd working, and always grateful. In a rare comment on his difficult wartime experience, he said simply this. I was very lucky. And he always thought of the tens of thousands of merchant seamen who did not return, but who made such a vital contribution to britains survival in the second world war. That report was from my colleague huw edwards. Tomorrow, Mishal Husain revealed her family story. Time for a look at the weather now, with nick miller. Meteorological autumn is now underway, with a set of new storm names as compiled by the Weather Services of the uk, ireland and