IT is a significant day as lockdown finally begins to ease, and schools reopen to pupils.

I'm sure the end of home-schooling will come as a massive relief for many as teachers welcome back their pupils in the flesh.

As readers know I have always urged caution with lockdown easing. The lockdown ended far too fast last summer, and again in the autumn, and we paid the consequences.

But it is true we are in a very different place now, with the continued success of the vaccination programme.

There is likely to be a rise in cases in the next few weeks as a result of schools reopening.

And as many teachers have not been vaccinated there is also every chance some classes could end up back home-schooling again, as they are forced to self isolate.

So for those reasons at least there should still be caution with all this, and a review of where we are in the Easter holidays.

Maybe the bigger question now is what the government will do for this 'Covid generation' of students who have fallen behind in this terrible year.

We hear longer school days and shorter summer holidays are possible options being looked at by ministers. The government is right to look at those options, but they should do the right thing and listen to teachers, headteachers, unions and others in the education sector before making any decisions.

The failure to do that last year ended in the exam fiasco.

Hopefully this time ministers - especially education secretary Gavin Williamson - will have learned their lesson.