Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will introduce new and proportionate mitigation measures to schools and other compulsory education settings to curb the transmission of covid-19.
Answered by Robin Walker
Our priority is for all nurseries, schools and colleges to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education to pupils and students and to minimise disruption to education. The department has worked closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) throughout our response to the COVID-19 outbreak and to revise our guidance from Step 4 of the roadmap when the government relaxed most restrictions across all parts of society.
The department continues to closely review data, analysis, and advice from a number of different sources including UKSHA, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, and the Office for National Statistics. We also continue to work closely with local authorities and their Directors of Public Health to inform our planning and response. We will continue to keep all measures under review in partnership with health experts and informed by the latest scientific evidence and advice.
As our guidance outlines, nurseries, schools and colleges should continue to keep good hygiene measures in place, keep spaces well ventilated, and follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The contingency framework describes the principles of managing local outbreaks of COVID-19 in nurseries, schools and colleges, and sets out the measures that all settings should be prepared for if they were advised to take extra measures to help break chains of transmission. It also sets out thresholds for managing COVID-19 cases and when settings should consider seeking public health advice. The contingency framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings/contingency-framework-education-and-childcare-settings.
All education providers should have contingency plans in place describing what they would do if children, pupils, students, or staff test positive for COVID-19 or how they would operate if they were advised to reintroduce any additional measures. If a provider is concerned because they have reached the thresholds outlined in the contingency framework, or if they are concerned about transmission within the setting, they can seek public health advice via the department’s helpline.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of covid-19 in (a) schools and (b) other compulsory education settings.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) leads in conducting the national Coronavirus Infection Survey and publishes weekly prevalence estimates of COVID-19 in school-age children. A link to the latest ONS report is here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/15october2021#age-analysis-of-the-number-of-people-who-had-covid-19.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the existing covid-19 infection mitigation measures in place in schools.
Answered by Robin Walker
The current COVID-19 operational guidance for schools sets out the best way to deliver face-to-face high-quality education to all pupils while also helping reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health. The contingency framework describes the types of measures that nurseries, schools and colleges should be prepared for, who can recommend them and where, when measures should be lifted and how decisions are made. The department has worked with the UK Health Security Agency to develop the thresholds outlined in the contingency framework. The thresholds are designed as a guide to differentiate between isolated cases as a result of community transmission and transmission occurring within the school, and to help the school identify when it might be sensible to seek public health advice.
Alongside Step 4 of the government’s roadmap in July 2021, the department published a summary of the evidence regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and children, young people, and in nurseries, schools and colleges: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evidence-summary-covid-19-children-young-people-and-education-settings.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of incorporating the £15 voucher scheme for local shops and supermarkets into the Healthy Start voucher scheme prior to the recent re-opening of schools during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
During the period of school opening restrictions, schools continued to provide free school meal support to pupils eligible for benefits related free school meals and who were learning at home. Extra funding was provided to support schools to provide lunch parcels or meals to eligible children. Schools were free to decide the best approach for their free school meal pupils. They could provide lunch parcels, locally arranged vouchers for local shops or supermarkets, or they could use the national voucher scheme.
The Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and young children from low income households. Vouchers are available for pregnant women and mothers with young children that meet the eligibility criteria, with further information available here: https://www.gov.uk/healthy-start/eligibility. In contrast, free school meals are available for eligible school age children. Further information on this is available here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals.
At the time, Healthy Start vouchers could be used to purchase fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula, in order to support a healthy diet, but not the full range of foods needed to provide a balanced meal for a child at lunch time.
A range of options were considered, including using the Department of Health and Social Care’s Healthy Start vouchers. However, these are aimed at different eligibility groups and were not designed to offer the full range of foods necessary to support a healthy, nutritious meal to learn, concentrate and achieve.
Given the pace required to set up support for free school meal pupils learning at home, this would not be considered a feasible option for delivery.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the guidance issued by the Government entitled COVID-19 Response: Spring 2021, on what date his Department plans to (a) announce and (b) conclude the review into the return of students in higher education that do not need to take part in practical teaching and do not require access to specialist facilities or equipment as part of their studies.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Following the review into when the remaining higher education students can return to in-person teaching and learning, the government has announced that the remaining students should return to in-person teaching no earlier than 17 May 2021, alongside Step 3 of the roadmap. Students and institutions will be given at least a week’s notice of any further return in accordance with the timing of Step 3 of the roadmap.
The government roadmap is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions to reduce public health risks and ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening. However, the government recognises the difficulties and disruption that this may cause for many students and their families and that is why the government is making a further £15 million of additional student hardship funding available for this academic year 2020/21. In total we have made an additional £85 million of funding available for student hardship.
We are supporting universities to provide regular twice weekly asymptomatic testing for all students and staff on-site and, from May, at home. This will help break chains of transmission of the virus.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of cancelling examinations for (a) Key Stage Two, (b) GCSE and (c) A-Level students and awarding pupils centre-assessed grades in 2020.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In light of the growth in COVID-19 rates we are seeing as a result of the newly identified strain of the virus, the Government needs to limit attendance at schools and colleges to reduce the number of contacts that we have with people in other households. This is now essential to protect the NHS. This means that we do not think it is possible or fair for examinations in the summer to go ahead as planned.
The department and Ofqual have launched a two-week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives, including consulting specifically on four different approaches for private candidates to receive a grade.
The consultation can be accessed from the Ofqual website and will be open until 29 January.
The restricted attendance in primary schools has also meant primary assessments cannot continue as intended. The statutory key stage 1 and key stage 2 tests and teacher assessments planned for summer 2021, including the key stage 2 tests in reading and mathematics, will be cancelled. We remain determined to ensure that every young person, no matter their age or background, is provided with the education and opportunities they deserve despite the challenges faced by schools. We know that schools will continue to use assessment during the summer term to inform teaching, to enable them to give information to parents on their child’s attainment in their statutory annual report and to support transition to secondary school. We strongly encourage schools to use past test papers in their assessment of pupils.
Primary assessments have a crucial role in supporting pupils to grasp the basics of reading, writing and mathematics and to prepare them for secondary school. As such, these arrangements will apply for summer 2021 only, and the Department is planning for a full programme of primary assessments to take place in the 2021/22 academic year. This will include the introduction of the statutory Reception Baseline Assessment and Multiplication Tables Check as previously announced. We will confirm full details for 2021/22 primary assessments in due course.