SCHOOLS will reopen as planned next week after the extended Halloween holiday ends.
The executive is expected to confirm children and staff will return on November 2.
With half of all the north's schools having being affected by Covid-19 cases so far this term, there have been some calls for an even longer lockdown.
Northern Ireland is one of the only regions in Europe that has closed all its schools twice.
Education minister Peter Weir and children's commissioner Koulla Yiasouma are among those who have said children should return at the end of the half-term break.
The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools also warned that "all must be done to support the re-opening of schools in early November".
Sinn Féin minister Carál Ní Chuilín suggested that ideally the R number should fall below one first.
A Department of Education spokeswoman said it remained the executive's intention "that schools will reopen on Monday 2 November".
"The education minister's priority is for the continuation of face-to-face teaching as the best form of educational provision whilst providing a safe and welcoming environment for children and staff," she added.
Graham Gault, president of the National Association of Head Teachers, said all must be done to support principals next week.
"Given the very significant additional burden of contact tracing, it is essential that principals are given the space to manage the critical business at hand with no other distractions or requirements being added by other bodies within education."
