The government has published detailed guidance for schools on
contingency planning for areas with local lockdowns in place.
The guidance sets out that all possible measures should be taken
before any restrictions are imposed on schools to maintain
consistent education for children and young people.
Education Secretary said:
“Our primary focus remains supporting all schools to welcome back
all pupils for the start of term and we thank teachers and staff
for their hard work in preparations
“We hope that we won’t have to implement the guidance set out
today because the local lockdown measures we have introduced so
far are working. Changes to school attendance will only ever be
an absolute last resort.
“However, it is important that both government and schools
prepare for a worst case scenario, so this framework represents
the sensible contingency planning any responsible government
would put in place.”
The updated CONTAIN guidance sets out four tiers of restrictions
for education settings, for use as an absolute last resort in
areas subject to local restrictions.
All schools, colleges and other education settings are opening
for the start of term, with all those in areas subject to local
restrictions currently at Tier 1 – fully open to all pupils full
time, with face coverings required in corridors and communal
areas for pupils in Year 7 and above.
Local authority leaders and directors of public health, alongside
national government, would be at the centre of any decision
making to move out of Tier 1 for education settings.
They would take all other possible measures, including
implementing restrictions on other sectors, before considering
restricting attendance in education.
If all other measures have been exhausted, Tier 2 would advise
secondary schools and colleges in a restricted area to use rotas
to help break chains of transmission of coronavirus, while
primary schools remain open to all pupils.
Tiers 3 and 4 introduce remote learning full time for wider
groups of pupils, with vulnerable children and children of
critical workers continuing to attend.
The government asked schools in July to ensure they were able to
provide high quality remote education that mirrors in-school
education, in case any pupils were required to self-isolate or
local restrictions were needed. These plans should extend to
rotas if ever required.
All children are due to return to school for the autumn term and
schools have been putting in place protective measures to reduce
the risk of transmission.
School staff have been working to implement increased hygiene and
handwashing with children remaining in consistent groups, using
measures such as staggered break times to keep groups apart.
To further reassure parents and teachers that all proportionate
measures are being taken to make schools as safe as possible, the
government has announced that in areas of the country currently
subject to enhanced restrictions, staff and pupils in secondary
schools should wear face coverings in communal areas where social
distancing cannot be maintained.
If a suspected case of coronavirus occurs in a school, the pupil
or staff member will be asked to self-isolate and get tested
while the school continues working as normal with its existing
protective measures in place. If a case is confirmed, local
public health officials will work with the school to take
appropriate measures, including asking all members of a pupil’s
bubble to isolate for 14 days and access remote education while
other pupils continue attending.
From this week, schools and colleges have begun receiving home
testing kits, each receiving a pack of 10 tests, with more
available to be ordered if needed. The home testing kits are to
be used in exceptional circumstances such an individual with
symptoms who may have barriers to accessing a test elsewhere and
the home kit would significantly increase their chance of getting
tested. This will enable schools and colleges to take swift
action to protect others if the test result is positive.
Schools are also receiving packs of PPE to use in the very
limited circumstances it may be required, such as when it is not
possible for a staff member to maintain 2m distance from a pupil
with a suspected case of coronavirus.
This week the Chief Medical Officers from all four nations in the
United Kingdom made it clear that the risks to children
contracting Covid-19 in school or college is extremely low and
that the risks associated with not being in school or college
outweighs that of not being there.
The Department for Education has also published further guidance
to help schools plan for potential Tier 2 restrictions, which
will involve secondary year groups operating a rota system in
order to reduce pupil numbers on-site.
