the education secretary nadhim zahawi has sought to reassure parents that the government's priority is to keep schools open, despite the surge in coronavirus cases. speaking this morning, he said strategies are being put in place for pupils in england: there'll be onsite testing, more ventilation and the potential for merging classes if needed. yesterday, secondary school pupils were told they'll need to use face coverings in class again. but mr zahawi said he didn't want students to wear masks for a day longer than necessary. jon donnison reports. this time a year ago, schools across the country were forced to close to most pupils. 12 months on, the government says it wants to do everything it can to avoid a return to empty classrooms and home learning. in england, all secondary schools have been asked to provide on—site covid tests for pupils before they return from the christmas break. the move has been cautiously welcomed by some head teachers. i think the requirements for schools to do the on—site testing is the very best we can do in the situation to ensure students can stay on site, and ensure that reassurance for families and staff returning from an extended break over the christmas period. so, again, i would say despite the upheaval that gives for schools, and school staff in particular, primarily the support staff, it is the one thing schools can continue to do to support face—to—face education. despite some shortages, the government says secondary schools have already been provided with the test kits for on—site testing. once the school term restarts, pupils will be asked to continue to take lateral flow tests at home twice a week. it follows the announcement over the weekend that secondary school pupils in england will again be required to wear face masks in classes, as is already the case in scotland, wales and northern ireland. i don't want masks in the classroom a day longer than necessary, it is really to do with a highly infectious aerial transmitted variant of the virus, and we know from uk health and security agency that it does make a difference in terms of mitigating, if you are asymptomatic, wearing a mask, you are much less likely to transmit. in northern ireland, all post—primary pupils and staff are being asked to do a home test in the 2a hours before they return to school. in scotland, all secondary pupils are urged to take a test at home before classes resume and then to continue to test twice a week. in wales, pupils are being asked to test three times a week at home. the governments in all four nations have pledged to try to keep schools open. but if covid cases and the number of people needing to isolate continue to rise, staff shortages could make that difficult. labour's shadow education secretary, bridget phillipson, said the government's plans to install ventilation systems in schools were not ambitious enough. 7000 air purifiers across hundreds of thousands of classrooms in england just is not good enough and they clearly recognise there is a need to take action and for so many schools and so many head teachers, the answer has just been open windows and keep children in learning and we are in a middle of winter here, it is january and i don't think it is an adequate solution just don't think it is an adequate solutionjust to tell don't think it is an adequate solution just to tell children to keep your coats on and open the windows when we've known for months that this is a problem. 50m; windows when we've known for months that this is a problem.— that this is a problem. sorry to interrupt. _ that this is a problem. sorry to interrupt, you've _ that this is a problem. sorry to interrupt, you've made - that this is a problem. sorry to interrupt, you've made it - that this is a problem. sorry to interrupt, you've made it clear| interrupt, you've made it clear you're not happy with the situation on ventilation as it stands on the fact is kids are going back in a few days so what is the answer? there are still time _ days so what is the answer? there are still time for— days so what is the answer? there are still time for the _ days so what is the answer? there are still time for the government | days so what is the answer? there | are still time for the government to act on ventilation and to public that by that republish that pilot and roll out proper ventilation across schools but we need to see a redoubled effort on the vaccination programme is too many children have not been able to access the vaccine that they are entitled to but also in testing, testing will be absolutely vital if we are to keep children learning in the classroom and there have been big issues around supply of tests, parents want to make sure they get those test and test the children before they return to school but this is all so last minute from the government and we've been told that children would be returning and we have known the date of the new school term but again and again, they are caught as if by surprise and it's not good enough, it is letting down children and families. hospitals are under pressure, as cases rise and staff go sick. a critical incident has been declared at hospitals in lincolnshire because of covid—related staff shortages. in an internal memo shared on social media, the united lincolnshire hospitals trust said it couldn't maintain safe staffing levels, meaning care was compromised. in a statement, the trusts medical director said that staff were working exceptionally hard to maintain services, and anyone who needed to go to hospital should still do so. chris hopson is the chief executive of nhs providers and he's been speaking to hospital bosses, who are warning of severe staff shortages. what we are seeing in the rest of the country is the same as we were seen in london, increasing numbers of people coming into hospital, increasing staff absences, and that's coming on top of a very significant amount of wider pressure. many of those cases done as possible but we simply have not been able to do that as a result of the arrival of omicron. so it will have an impact and we will need to work out what that impact is but there will be an impact. we are trying to extend it was the campaign and at the same time, no or social calculator under real, real pressure of the last couple of weeks because they have big staff absences but they are also now seeing outbreaks of omicron in care homes which means those care homes are closed to new residents so it is a concerning picture. professor clive kay is the chief executive of kings college hospital london, which employs around 14,000 staff. he said that there are around 500 people off at the moment — and while that may not be a very high number, it has a big impact when absent staff are from the same department. we are struggling with staff absence due to covid in particular and the numbers have settled a little around christmas time we were around 700 or so covid related absences which is both staff who were symptomatic, had covid itself, over household contacts. we have 14,000 staff but the key thing is it depends on the groups of staff involved and if there are a few staff in certain groups affected at certain services, that does become really quite challenging for us to have to manage those services and move staff around, so although the numbers appear not to be huge, nonetheless, the speed of which staff are having to go off because omicron is transmissible is severe. it is still a great challenge and means on a daily basis we have to juggle means on a daily basis we have to juggle the rotors and rosters and move staff around to make sure we care for our patients and operations of safe, and that is quite a challenge. staff shortages has forced scotrail to make temporary changes to its timetable from tuesday. the rail operator has hundreds of staff isolating due to covid, resulting in scores of services being cancelled. the company said that to provide customers with a level of certainty?about which?trains are running, a temporary timetable would be in place until the 28th of january. in france, children as young as six now have to wear a face covering on public transport or in shops. until today — the restriction had applied to anyone aged eleven and over. the head of france's vaccination programme says a decision could be made next month or in march about whether to recommend a fourth covid vaccination. more than 10 million covid—i9 infections in the last two years. governments across europe — the epicentre of a new wave of covid—i9 infections — are considering what measures are needed to protect pupils returning to school this week. in the netherlands, the government's health advisors are to meet later today to discuss whether schools should reopen, following their early closure last month to reduce the risk of children infecting older relatives over christmas. in amsterdam, at least thirty people were arrested at an unauthorized protest on sunday against lockdowns and vaccinations. anna holligan reports. the first major anti—lockdown demo of the new year, and the focus of their discontent was clear. four officers were injured when people tried to break through a barricade. a few protesters were hurt too. they object to the rules suddenly imposed by the dutch government a few days before christmas, to limit social interactions, protect the vulnerable in society, and relieve pressure on hospitals. thousands defied a ban on mass public gatherings designed to impede the rapid spread of the omicron variant. many people here believe the focus should be elsewhere. the problem here in the netherlands is that we don't have enough capacity in hospitals for the people, so raise that up, and i know it's not a thing that can be erased in two or three months, but we don't do anything about it, so maybe we should solve that problem and not put everybody inside the houses, make them unhappy, because unhappy people get sick. more than 85% of adults in the netherlands are fully vaccinated. infections were up 18% this week compared with the week before christmas, but hospitalisations have dropped considerably to their lowest point in two months. and after a slow start, the dutch booster programme is gaining momentum. everyone who wants a booster shot should be able to get one by next week. the lockdown will remain until at least the 14th of january. a decision on when to lift it is expected this week. children's rights groups are among the 60 organisations that have appealed to ministers to allow pupils to return to class as scheduled on the 10th. a few days then, and 2022 is already displaying familiar struggles many hoped would be over by this year. anna holligan, bbc news. a 16—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder, following the death of a teenager in west london. the victim — who was also 16 — was stabbed in a park in the hillingdon area but hasn't been formally identified. police are appealing for witnesses. in some high—crime inner city areas, children are being helped to and from school by adult chaperones. it's based on a successful scheme in chicago and is being piloted in the west midlands. the schools taking part have been chosen based on police intelligence, as our midlands correspondent phil mackie reports. the remainder of avatar —— now, guys, you can come through. towering above the children leaving the ark boulton academy in sparkhill in birmingham is callum dunn. all right, guys, do you want to come through? he works for mad, or make a difference, and he is one of a group of chaperones who keep students safe on their way into and out of school. the chaperones are in prominent places, so easily identifiable by students. they are on key routes home and also in areas that we know are hotspots. so they provide a refuge, so if there are students who feel they are at risk, feel they are vulnerable, they can see those chaperones. they are marked out — mad on theirjackets, and they can approach them and the chaperones can make sure they feel safe. this school is one of more than a dozen across the west midlands that is taking part in a pilot project called step together. in each case, the children have to use routes to and from school where drug dealing and gang crime are problems. thankfully, none of us has been involved in such violence across the streets, but we do know that there are people out there, there are the dangers of the world out there and you want to be protected in such situations. so the fact that these chaperones are out here now, it does make everybody feel ten times safer. i think that every student should get the chance to go home safely and not to worry about anything like that. it is more scary to go to a stranger and ask for help, so to know there are trained professionals there, that we know they are there to protect us and we can go to them. the walk to and from school can be perilous for teenagers in big cities. an 18—year—old was stabbed to death barely a mile from here a few weeks ago. this park is a couple of minutes away from the school so lots of people will congregate here and they might play football, or cricket in the summer. but it is also a potential dangerous flashpoint, because there is a lot of criminal activity here — drug dealing, weapons have been stashed here, so that is why the chaperones come, notjust to act as a point of reassurance for the children who use this, but also as a deterrent to the criminal activity. we have found a machete into the ackers woods just up there. callum dunn's brought me to the park that he and the other chaperones patrol after school. it is known as the ackers and is right next to the ark boulton academy. when bad things happen, it's not often in the eyesight of the public. that is why green areas and big parks like this are often places where a lot of things will happen out of eyesight. callum says that because they spend so much time with the children, they get a sixth sense if something is wrong and can immediately detect if there is likely to be trouble. if it is a success, it is hoped the chaperones could become a more common sight elsewhere in and wales. the latest headlines on bbc news: regular testing and masks in secondary schools in england — the education secretary outlines measures to keep schools open in the face of rising covid infections. a critical incident is declared at hospitals in lincolnshire because of covid—related staff shortages. how chaperones are escorting children to school in parts of the west midlands with high levels of crime. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's chetan. good morning. liverpool defender virgil van dijk says the premier league title is manchester city's to lose — after his side were held to a 2—2 draw at chelsea. all the goals came in the first half with liverpool going 2—0 up through sadio mane and mo salah. but thomas tuchel�*s side fought back and matteo kovacic pulled one back with one of the goals of the season before christian pulisic made it 2—2. chelsea are ten points behind city, liverpool 11. romelu lukaku was left out of the chelsea squad for that game. it followed recent comments that were critical of manager thomas tuchel�*s tactics. tuchel is set to meet with lukaku later today: if the decision is he is good to go for wednesday, that is the decision, if it is not, it is not but i cannot tell you right now because we need to talk and understand the situation better and from there we go and once the situation is clear, there was no doubt we will stay our player and we will protect our player. the january transfer window is open and the rumor mill is back up and running. at manchester united, edison cavani is out of contract at the end of this season and has been linked with barcelona and juventus. however, interim manager ralph rangnick says that the uruguyan striker is highly important to him and that united will definitely need him for the coming months. his professionalism, his work ethic is just amazing and i told him that i desperately want him to stay and stay until the end of the season, and he knows that, he also knows how highly irate him and how highly i respect him. britain's four—time tour de france champion chris froome has suffered a setback in his preparations for the 2022 season. the former team ineos rider — now part of the israel start—up nation team — has been suffering with a damaged tendon in his knee. froome believes it's a result of "pushing too much" in pre—season training. he'll now take a week off the bike before a gradual return. england all—rounder ben stokes has backed test skipperjoe root — and told reporters in sydney that he has no ambition to take on the captaincy in the future. the fourth test starts tuesday evening uk time and there's been plenty of speculation over whether root will continue in the role after the current series. england are three nil down and have already lost the ashes i will look at the future at the end of this tour. i don't think i can afford to throw any more energy into anything else than the games themselves right now. we want to give people back home something to shout about, to show how much we care about this team and test match cricket. how desperate we are to do well. and as i say, to win out here would be, these last two games would be a really big step forward from, especially off the back of the first three games. we want to give people back home something to shout about, melbourne renegades came out on top against city rivals the melbourne stars in the big bash league this morning. surrey and england bowler reece topley was in good form with the ball taking three wickets as the renegades restricted the stars to just 126. renegades always looked in control in their run chase, reaching their target with two overs to spare. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. and the only process, it is not made and the only process, it is not made a good start to the second. fine a good start to the second. one -la er a good start to the second. one player gone _ a good start to the second. one player gone after _ a good start to the second. one player gone after a _ a good start to the second. one player gone after a half—century. india with much to do. the fourth test match, dare i say it, gets under way at the late hours of tomorrow night. back to you. the renowned kenyan conservationist and fossil hunter — richard leakey — has died at the age of seventy—seven. his discoveries were crucial in shedding light on the evolution of humans. richard leakey also took a stand in the fight against ivory poachers in kenya. the bbc�*s tim allman looks back at his life and career. richard leakey helped tell the story of where we came from... ..but he was also concerned about where we're going. he made his name in the study of human evolution. his discoveries — including a famous turkana boy skeleton — helped transform our understanding of the origins of humanity. i think africa is beginning to recognise that our heritage is real. i think we are beginning to realise that blue—eyed guys like you, and the scandinavians, and people from all over the world, actually are part of the african diaspora. that's powerful. as was his commitment to conservation. in 1989, he was appointed head of kenya's national wildlife agency — his war against poaching symbolised by the public burning of tonnes of stolen ivory. the worst thing you could do with richard was to assume that he was british. he was a very proud kenyan and he was a good kenyan, and africa has lost a significant personality and an important personality. richard leakey was born in nairobi in 19114, the son of two famous anthropologists. he suffered throughout his life from ill—health, battling against cancer and needing a kidney transplant. he lost both his legs in a plane crash and he always suspected foul play — his fight against corruption creating many enemies. but those setbacks never got in the way of his love of scientific discovery and his love of africa. he was described as a visionary whose great contributions to human origins and wildlife conservation will never be forgotten. the conservationist — richard leakey — who's died at the age of 77 the queen will celebrate her platinum jubilee this year, when she becomes the first british monarch to reign for 70 years. national festivities will take place injune over a four—day bank holiday weekend. but the queen is actually set to pass the milestone on february 6th — the anniversary of the death of herfather, king george vi, in 1952. our royal correspondent daniela relph looks back. first came the silver. 25 years later, it was the golden. more recently, the diamond. the queen is a veteran of a jubilee. brian, christine and dave, neighbours on park street in salisbury, which looked very different ten years ago. the team photo, the residents of park street held a diamond jubilee street party in 2012. it was much more than that. the months of planning brought neighbours together. new friendships were made, community spirit was strengthened. nation, as it were. you know what i mean? i'm welsh, but it didn't matter. she is our queen. you know what i mean? so i'm not saying they actually thought that consciously, but it's that feeling, and getting together. a great big mishmash of everybody, one big family, as it were. one big memory is the colourful tables bending, groaning under the weight of the food. brian, no one has lived longer on park street than you have. but it was transformed that day. what was it like here on the day? well, not seeing any parked cars was rather nice. and on this nice big open street where we had tables and chairs and bunting and people enjoying themselves. the milford street bridge mural was created in salisbury for the diamond jubilee, after people here were asked for their royal memories. each image represents someone's recollection. a permanent reminder of royal history. this year, salisbury and communities across the uk will turn their minds to the queen's platinum jubilee, where much of the focus will be on creating a lasting legacy to mark the longest reign in british history. and this year, that lasting legacy wants us all to get planting. you stick all these things in. back in october, the queen met local schoolchildren, and launched the tree planting season on her balmoral estate. i shall look at it in the car on my way down to edinburgh. thank you very much, that's very kind. it's part of a uk wide project to get trees planted to mark the platinum jubilee. alongside a four—day bank holiday weekend injune, for a national celebration. this is the first british monarch ever to reach a platinum jubilee. and the chances of that happening again in the future, it's almost impossible to see how that will ever happen again because it involves not only someone living for a very long time, but coming to the throne very young. and it's very difficult to see how that will ever happen in the future. so this does feel very much like it has the potential to be a really historical moment. jubilees are markers of history. they are also a chance to party, to remember and to connect. perhaps never more so than this year. daniela relph, bbc news, salisbury. let's catch up with the weather now. yours carol. —— here's carol. hello again. the weather this week is turning colder than it has been but temperatures will be roughly where they should be at this stage injanuary. cold air is already across parts of scotland, and watch how it moves southwards through tonight and into tomorrow covering all but the channel islands by the time we get to the end of tomorrow. this is the weather front the cold air is following on in behind. it is producing rain but increasingly we will see snow showers in lower levels across scotland. ahead of that, some showers, some thundery across wales, brisk winds in england and wales but a lot of dry weather and across the english channel, looking at some rain on and off in areas adjacent to the english channel. but mild in the south, cold in the north and that cold air filters further south behind this weather front as we go through the night so increasingly in the hills of the pennines, the lake district, peak district and north west wales, we will see snow but more substantial snow falling especially on higher ground across scotland. couple that with gale—force winds and we are looking at a combination of blizzards and also drifting on higher ground. that will be the scenario tomorrow as well, the met office has yellow warnings out for this. 5—15 centimetres of fresh snow falling, 15 centimetres on higher ground, and gusts potentially on the summits of 70 mph also around the coasts. away from scotland there is lots of dry weather around, we lose the morning rain. in the increaseing wind towards the west we will see showers come in, some of those could be wintry on the hills. tomorrow, top temperatures 4 to 8 degrees. 10 in the channel islands. it is a chilly start to the day on wednesday, a ridge of high pressure across us, through the day, the wind easing. some showers in the north and east, temperatures now, 4 in the north to about 9 degrees as we push down to the south. things change once again, we have this clutch of fronts coming from the atlantic. you see from looking at the isobars, it is going to be windy. as the weather fronts engage with this cold air, the rain readily turns to snow on the leading edge, most of this will be on higher ground. it will be a windy day on thursday, accentuating the cold feel. these are the temperatures, 6 degrees, up to 9 degrees, maybe an 11 in plymouth. hello, this is bbc news with rebecca jones. the headlines: regular testing and masks in secondary schools in england — the education secretary outlines measures to keep schools open in the face of rising covid infections. i don't want masks in the classroom a day longer than necessary, it's really to deal with a highly infectious aerosol transmitted variant of the virus. a critical incident is declared at hospitals in lincolnshire because of covid—related staff shortages. how chaperones are escorting children to school in parts of the west midlands with high levels of crime. now on bbc news, producer felicity baker, who has a stammer, reveals what it is like to live with the condition. 0k. i've worked for bbc news for ten years as a producer,