While Britain’s politicians bicker over schools after the government shelved its plans for all primary school pupils to return this month, many other countries are already well ahead in resuming lessons.

Switzerland and the Netherlands have both achieved what Britain hoped to do, sending all primary-age pupils back before the holidays – saying that the risk of younger children spreading coronavirus is low.

Spain and South Africa are among the countries where secondary schools have already started to re-open, while New Zealand has resumed a full timetable after abandoning almost all its lockdown restrictions.

Many countries including France and Japan are opening schools on a regional basis, with specific virus prevention measures left up to local governments or even individual schools.

Schools have become a political battleground in Britain where Labour leader Keir Starmer today accused Boris Johnson of ‘flailing around’ while millions of children missed out on their education.

But Mr Johnson raged that Sir Keir had been ‘flip-flopping’ over whether schools were safe to return or not and needed to speak to his ‘left-wing friends’ in the teaching unions.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson admitted yesterday that the ‘ambition’ of getting all primary age children back in class for a month before the summer break has been ditched, just weeks after it was set.

Here is how some other countries have dealt with the situation…

SOUTH AFRICA: A teacher checks the temperature of a pupil wearing a mask at the CR Swart High School in Pretoria on Monday as schools resumed after two and a half months of closure