Schools in Wales will remain closed next week, the education minister has confirmed.

Kirsty Williams AM confirmed this afternoon that schools will not be reopening their doors after the Easter holidays and said "we should prepare for a significant period of disruption to our education system", adding that she would only reopen schools when experts advise that it is safe to do so.

Ms Williams also announced a further £1.25 million worth of funding for school counselling services to deal with an anticipated increase in demand.

She said: "I will only reopen schools when I have the advice from the chief medical officer and the chief scientific officer that it is safe to do so.

"It is quite clear to me that when schools reopen, it won’t be business as usual.

“The scientific advice is very clear in terms of the continuation of social-distancing practices.

"We may be in a situation where we can have part of the school cohort going back. We look at some of the countries, it’s just their youngest children."

When asked if schools would remain closed until September, she said that we should prepare for a significant period of disruption to the education system.