Scientists have cautioned against bringing forward the reopening of schools in England, saying it would be “a recipe for disaster” while the prevalence of the virus remains high. Boris Johnson is facing pressure from his own MPs to follow Scotland’s lead after the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced a phased return to the classroom from 22 February. Scotland’s youngest children, including nursery and primary pupils in years one, two and three, are expected to be back in the classroom full-time from 22 February, along with small numbers of secondary pupils who need to complete practical work in class for national qualifications. In England, by contrast, Johnson has said schools – which are currently open to only 15% of children who are either regarded as “vulnerable” or whose parents are critical workers – will not open more fully until 8 March at the earliest. The prime minister reiterated on Wednesday that he still considered 8 March “the prudent date to set”. Johnson told a Downing Street press conference: “What we don’t want to do now that we are making progress with the vaccine rollout and we have got a timetable for the way ahead, we don’t want to be forced into reverse. We think this is the prudent and cautious approach. I think it is much better to stick to that.” However, one senior Tory with knowledge of the prime minister’s thinking suggested there were now hopes of a “big bang” reopening, rather than the phased return that had previously been envisaged. Meanwhile, the prime minister announced the appointment of an education recovery commissioner to oversee the government’s plans to help children catch up. Kevan Collins, formerly of the Education Endowment Foundation, who has worked in the sector for more than three decades, will advise the government on how to spend the £300m recently allocated for plugging the teaching shortfall created by the crisis. Johnson said: “I am absolutely determined that no child will be left behind as a result of the pandemic. Our top priority is to get schools open again and once they are, we will make sure that teachers and students are equipped with the resources and the time they need to make up for lost learning.” When Scotland’s schools reopening plans were announced on Tuesday, some Conservative MPs, including the chair of the Covid Recovery Group, Mark Harper, responded by calling for the return of pupils in England to be brought forward. Robert Halfon, a Conservative who chairs the Commons education committee, is among those pushing for schools to open sooner. He tweeted: “Given that Scotland is likely to open some schools in the next couple of weeks, and given Public Health England say primary schools are ‘safe to open soon’, surely England can lead by example and at least open primary schools before 8 March.” In an interview with the Guardian, Prof Devi Sridhar, the chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, pointed out, however, that according to the latest Office for National Statistics data, the overall prevalence of Covid in Scotland is currently half that in England. “The issue with schools is not opening them, it’s keeping them open,” she said. “If you keep having cases, you will be having bubbles of 50 kids going home repeatedly, and that’s not sustainable education. You are better off keeping them closed longer to get your numbers down and then opening in a more sustainable way.” Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a senior lecturer in epidemiology at Queen Mary University of London. urged the prime minister to resist pressure to reopen schools any sooner, warning that even 8 March looked unrealistic. She said levels of community transmission were still high and cases were not declining sufficiently rapidly. “We are in a very, very precarious position. Parents and children have made huge sacrifices because of schools being closed to most children. It’s very important we don’t squander this.” Gurdasani said evidence suggested that primary schoolchildren were two times more likely than adults to be the first case in a household, and once infected they were two times more likely to transmit than adults. Putting children back into schools while community transmission remained so high was “a recipe for disaster”, she said. Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Everybody wants to see all pupils back in school as soon as possible, but it is of critical importance that this happens when scientists believe it is safe to do so without triggering an immediate increase in infection rates and necessitating another period of restricted opening. “The plan in Scotland for a phased return from 22 February has clearly been made on the basis of the evidence there, and that does not automatically mean that England should follow suit if the evidence is different. What we have to avoid is another spike in coronavirus cases, and a revolving door of school opening.”