About one-in-six of children are attending school in Lincolnshire for face-to-face lessons this week due to the COVID-19 disruption and national lockdown restrictions, council bosses revealed.

This compares to November's lockdown that saw over 90% of children attending in Lincolnshire — as schools were allowed to be open for all pupils, not just for essential workers' children.

The third lockdown has delayed children going back to school after the Christmas holidays, only permitting vulnerable children and those of key workers to attend.

All other children have to learn remotely until February half term.

In June 2020 when schools reopened after the first lockdown, it was estimated that 10-15% of children in Lincolnshire attended, with around 90% not in class for over three months.

Heather Sandy, executive director for children's services, said: "Early indications are that around 17% of children are attending school for face-to-face lessons this week, although this varies significantly from school to school and in different age ranges.

"The well-being of local children is our priority, and we've provided training to schools, who offer pastoral support alongside online learning.

"Any concerned parents should contact their school in the first instance, but we do have a range of resources for emotional wellbeing that can accessed via the Family Services Directory on our website."

She added: "School is the best place for children to learn, but remote learning resources continue to improve."

"In addition, once children return to school, they will again receive additional support, where needed, through the government-funded catch-up programmes. The support available should help to mitigate the impact of lockdown on students' learning."

Last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched a "massive catch-up operation" which included £650 million being distributed to schools in order to support children affected by closures due to COVID-19.