Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish guidance on the use of changing rooms during competitive sporting fixtures, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has published guidance on gov.uk allowing the phased return of sport and recreation in line with the latest medical guidance. This guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-phased-return-of-sport-and-recreation. A pdf of the web page is attached.
The current guidance for recreational settings states that indoor facilities, apart from toilets and through-ways should be kept closed.
The guidance also includes a set of recommended minimum practice for Step One of ‘return to training’ (RTT) guidance for elite athletes. This guidance will assist elite sport organisations to deliver a safe return to organised training for its athletes and staff, while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Step Two guidance on a return to close contact training, and Step Three of parameters of Behind Closed Doors competition, will follow in due course.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish guidance on a sport-by-sport basis in relation to the resumption of competitive sport following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has published guidance on gov.uk allowing the phased return of sport and recreation in line with the latest medical guidance. This guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-phased-return-of-sport-and-recreation. A pdf of the web page is attached.
The guidance includes a set of recommended minimum practice for Step One of ‘return to training’ (RTT) guidance for elite athletes. This guidance will assist elite sport organisations to deliver a safe return to organised training for its athletes and staff, while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Step Two guidance on a return to close contact training, and Step Three of parameters of Behind Closed Doors competition, will follow in due course.
Whilst the Government does not plan to publish sport-specific guidance, the national governing bodies of sports are producing guidance for the safe, phased return of play, in line with the overarching guidance that the Government has produced.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish a list of supported schemes made available during the COVID-19 lockdown, whether mandatory or discretionary in nature, to assist such bodies as community amateur and other amateur sports clubs and groups that own or maintain their own facilities.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has announced an unprecedented support package for sports clubs and other organisations affected by Covid-19, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Business Interruption loan scheme.
Full details of Government guidance and support for organisations including community amateur sports clubs can be found on the Gov.UK website.
In addition, Sport England have also announced a support package of £210m for the grassroots sport sector. Full details can be found on their website.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to produce a guide for community amateur sports clubs and other amateur sports clubs about how to access any support schemes run by central or local government, or endorsed by them.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has announced an unprecedented support package for sports clubs and other organisations affected by Covid-19, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Business Interruption loan scheme.
Full details of Government guidance and support for organisations including community amateur sports clubs can be found on the Gov.UK website.
In addition, Sport England have also announced a support package of £210m for the grassroots sport sector. Full details can be found on their website.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of vulnerable students who are not attending the available school places for those with special educational needs.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
69,000 of the children and young people in attendance on Thursday 7 May were classed by schools as vulnerable. Of these, around 20,800 were children and young people with special educational needs who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, and 35,000 were children in need (reported by schools as having a social worker). The remainder were unknown, where schools either did not provide this information or the children were classed vulnerable for other reasons.
The department is working with educational settings and local authorities to improve our understanding of the total number of vulnerable children for whom continued attendance at educational establishments would be beneficial and appropriate. We are asking local authorities to work with educational providers, families and the child or young person to carry out a risk assessment to judge whether the child or young person’s needs cannot be met safely at home. Many children and young people with EHC plans can have their needs safely met in the home environment. Attendance may not be appropriate for some children, including because of health considerations for them and their family. Full guidance on the definition of vulnerable children and options for continued attendance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the long-term educational benefits of educational material provided by public service broadcasters to children who cannot attend school during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We have no current plans in place to review the long-term educational benefits of material independently developed and provided by public sector broadcasters for children unable to attend school during the COVID-19 outbreak. For most children who benefited from materials offered by public sector broadcasters, this would only have been part of their overall educational provision, and it would be extremely difficult to isolate the impact of just this one element.
Many schools have set work for pupils and shared resources for children who are at home; the Department has issued guidance for schools which signposts to an initial list of free online resources identified by educational experts and teachers; many educational suppliers have also helpfully made their resources available for free.
Additionally, leading state schools collaborated to open The Oak National Academy, which was launched online on 20 April. This initiative is led by 40 teachers who have assembled video lessons and resources for any teacher in the country to make use of if they wish to do so. 180 video lessons will be provided each week, across a broad range of subjects, for every year group from Reception through to Year 10.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what comprehensive guidance they have provided to voluntary and sporting organisations which operate buildings and other facilities in respect of outlining the support available throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; and where any such guidance is published.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has announced a number of support packages for voluntary and sporting organisations, who have been impacted by Covid-19.
For sport, this includes Sport England’s announcement of a £195m package of support for the grassroots sport and physical activity sector, including a £20m Community Emergency Fund (CEF) to support those organisations that are suffering from immediate financial hardship. The CEF includes support for organisations which operate facilities and which require specific support to meet fixed and other costs relating to buildings. Further details are available here: https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/coronavirus/coronavirus-funding-and-flexibility.
For the voluntary sector, this has included the Government distributing £310m via the National Lottery Community Fund to support voluntary organisations most affected by Covid-19 as part of the wider £750m Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise funding package announced by the Chancellor.
These packages are in addition to the wider HM Treasury support packages, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Business Interruption loan, both of which the sport and voluntary sector are eligible for. Full details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic related school closures and social distancing measures on those with identified special educational needs but who do not have an Education Health and Care Plans.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We have published guidance on supporting vulnerable children and young people at this time:
We have also published guidance on how risk assessments should be carried out for children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance.
This guidance sets out the practicalities for local authorities and other providers in undertaking risk assessments for vulnerable children and young people with EHC plans, in light of school and college closures. Schools remain open to the vulnerable, and children in care and local authority Virtual School Heads are actively tailoring their expert offer of advice and support to the current circumstances. This includes the provision of additional resources such as online learning – in addition to our offer of laptops and tablets – and support for carers where children are unable to attend school. We are asking local authorities to work with educational providers, families and the child or young person to carry out a risk assessment to judge whether the child or young person’s needs cannot be met safely at home. Where the risk assessment determines a child or young person with an EHC plan will be as safe or safer at an educational setting, it may be more appropriate for them to attend the educational setting.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of support to children with dyslexia, autism and other neuro diverse conditions who are undergoing education at home.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We have published guidance on supporting vulnerable children and young people at this time:
We have also published guidance on how risk assessments should be carried out for children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance.
This guidance sets out the practicalities for local authorities and other providers in undertaking risk assessments for vulnerable children and young people with EHC plans, in light of school and college closures. Schools remain open to the vulnerable, and children in care and local authority Virtual School Heads are actively tailoring their expert offer of advice and support to the current circumstances. This includes the provision of additional resources such as online learning – in addition to our offer of laptops and tablets – and support for carers where children are unable to attend school. We are asking local authorities to work with educational providers, families and the child or young person to carry out a risk assessment to judge whether the child or young person’s needs cannot be met safely at home. Where the risk assessment determines a child or young person with an EHC plan will be as safe or safer at an educational setting, it may be more appropriate for them to attend the educational setting.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice and guidance they have provided to parents of children who do not qualify for school attendance and who have dyslexia, autism and other neuro diverse conditions about how to support those children successfully at home; whether such guidance is published; and if so, where.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We have published guidance on supporting vulnerable children and young people at this time:
We have also published guidance on how risk assessments should be carried out for children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance.
This guidance sets out the practicalities for local authorities and other providers in undertaking risk assessments for vulnerable children and young people with EHC plans, in light of school and college closures. Schools remain open to the vulnerable, and children in care and local authority Virtual School Heads are actively tailoring their expert offer of advice and support to the current circumstances. This includes the provision of additional resources such as online learning – in addition to our offer of laptops and tablets – and support for carers where children are unable to attend school. We are asking local authorities to work with educational providers, families and the child or young person to carry out a risk assessment to judge whether the child or young person’s needs cannot be met safely at home. Where the risk assessment determines a child or young person with an EHC plan will be as safe or safer at an educational setting, it may be more appropriate for them to attend the educational setting.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.