WALES Health Minister saying any politician giving a cast iron guarantee about reopening schools in Wales this month would be "foolish or brave".

But he said he was supportive of the measures being introduced in Wales for children and their families.

Speaking at this morning's Welsh Government daily briefing, Health Minster Vaughan Gething was asked if he was confident in the decision to reopen Welsh schools, albeit a restricted and staggered opening, in the wake of the announcement that schools in England now may not open until September.

Mr Gething said: "I'm as confident as I think we can be. We are living through an extraordinary amount of uncertainty, and I think any politician who tried to stand and give you cast iron guarantees is being brave or foolish depending on your point of view.

"But we worked through a range of options that we think strike the right balance in terms of keeping people safe and recognising the potential harm done to children's life chances experience, including their emotional well-being in not having a form of school opening.

"Being really clear, this is not back to normal, far from it. This is a very different way that schools would be operating over the four week period outlined but it will help us get used to what will be the new normal from when terms returns again in September."

Last week, Education Minister Kirsty Williams outlined the government’s next phase for schools in Wales leading to ‘the new normal in September’.

All children will have the opportunity to “check in, catch up, prepare for summer and September”.

It is proposed that all schools will start the next phase on June 29, with the term extended by a week, therefore ending on July 27.

Teaching unions had said the measures were "too much too soon".

Today, Mr Gething said that the measures would involve everyone working together, including ministers, teachers, support staff, and children and parents.

He said limited capacity, smaller groups, and staggering the back to school experience meant all children would have an opportunity to have that school experience.

It comes after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has told MPs that primary schools in England will not be able to welcome all pupils back for a month before the summer holidays.

The minister said he would "work with the sector" as he confirmed the Government's ambition to return all primary schoolchildren to the classroom for four weeks before the end of the summer term had been dropped.

Mr Williamson said the Government would like to see schools who "have the capacity" bring back more pupils where possible before the summer break.

It comes after school leaders, teachers and governors urged ministers to reconsider plans for a full return to primary school - as they said it would be impossible amid capacity issues, staff shortages and social distancing.

But Mr Gething added: "I think we should have some confidence that we are following genuinely the advice we were given by our scientific advisors - the chief medical officer looked at it, our chief scientific advisor on health has looked at what we're doing, and they're positive about where we're going.

"We'll need of course to learn from experience and it's a matter for other country's to make their choices, but am definitely positive and supportive of the measures we are introduced here in Wales for children and their families."