The children of healthcare workers will be looked after schools close next week due to the coronavirus outbreak, Education Minister Peter Weir has said.
Speaking on the BBC's Stephen Nolan Show, Peter Weir said work is under way to put into place arrangements for the children of health staff to be cared for while they are at work throughout the coronavirus crisis.
"We are intending to do a two-stage approach, particularly with regards to healthcare workers; the aim would be to have schools in place from Monday, schools with skeleton staff," he said.
"I'll be writing out today to schools to clarify all the issues arising from last night's announcement, but the aim would be to have a skeleton staff, initially on the basis of healthcare workers that want to place their children back in the school.
"There would then be a combination of childcare and supervised learning because all the schools have been preparing packs, online resources for that.
"That is an immensely logistical problem in a very short space of time but that would kick in on Monday."
"While we said that pupils will not be in (schools), teachers will continue to work, largely through schools, some because of self-isolation from home.
"Education will continue to be delivered, they will be teaching through online resources, they'll be teaching through packs.
"The intention while we're not in normal times, not in normal circumstances, will everything be done as perfectly as possible? No, but the aim is throughout this process for teaching to continue and teaching to continue up to the end of the academic year on that basis."
While the situation is likely to be re-assessed after Easter, it is thought the shutdown will last for the rest of the academic year.
Exams will not take place as planned in May and June, according to British prime minister Boris Johnson.
The blanket lockdown in Northern Ireland was announced just hours after the education minister told an assembly committee that it was business as usual.
