Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she made of the impact on (a) children aged five to 11 who are clinically extremely vulnerable or who have a close relative who is immunosuppressed and (b) the staff working with those children who are either clinically extremely vulnerable or have a close relative who is immunosuppressed, of allowing children aged five to 11 in families where there is a confirmed covid-19 case to continue attending school; and if she will make a statement.

The department will always prioritise the health and welfare of staff, pupils and students.

At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, shielding was introduced as one of the few ways to support those who, at the time, were considered clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV).

The situation is now very different to when shielding was first introduced. We know a lot more about COVID-19 and what makes someone more or less vulnerable to the virus. The vaccine continues to be successfully rolled out, and other treatments and interventions are becoming available.

We are committed to protecting education, which is why the safety measures are based on the latest scientific advice and strike a balance between managing transmission risk with measures such as regular testing, enhanced ventilation and hygiene, and reducing disruption to face-to-face learning.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have not advised people to shield since 1 April 2021, and people previously identified as CEV were advised to follow the same guidance as the general population. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do.

All children and young people previously considered CEV were advised to return to childcare and education provision when shielding paused on 1 April. The decision to include children as part of the CEV group was based on the information that we had at the time. Now that we have more evidence, the clinical review panel has been able to recommend that all children and young people are no longer considered to be CEV and have been removed from the Shielded Patient List. However, if a child or young person has been advised to isolate or reduce their social contact by their specialist, due to the nature of their medical condition or treatment, they should continue to follow the advice of their specialist.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that children aged 5 to 11 in a clinical risk group, and household contacts of individuals who are immunosuppressed, should be offered 2 10mcg doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, with an interval of 8 weeks between the first and second doses. The NHS is working through updated guidance and will set out how this is going to be operationalised in due course.

Vaccines remain an effective measure against COVID-19. We recommend all school staff take up the offer of a vaccine.

Education providers should continue to ensure good hygiene for everyone, maintain appropriate cleaning regimes, keep spaces well ventilated and follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19. They should continue to conduct risk assessments for their particular circumstances and take appropriate action in line with our guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

It is important that we reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education, particularly given that the direct clinical risks to children are extremely low. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health, which is why children should continue to attend their education provision, unless they are symptomatic or test positive for COVID-19. All students and pupils aged 5 and above are strongly advised to take seven daily lateral flow device tests if they are identified by Test and Trace as a close contact of a confirmed positive case.