Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he will continue with the covid-19 public health measures in place in schools after 26 January 2022 to help prevent an increase in infections.

The government continues to manage the risk of serious illness from the spread of the virus. COVID-19 continues to be a virus that we learn to live with and the imperative to reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education remains.

While it has been announced that face coverings are no longer advised for pupils, staff, and visitors in classrooms and, from 27 January, face coverings are no longer advised for pupils, staff and visitors in communal areas, a range of protective measures remain in place in all schools, colleges, and nurseries. Additionally, local directors of public health may temporarily advise the use of face coverings in communal areas or classrooms where this is proportionate due to specific local public health concerns.

Testing remains important in reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 within schools and colleges. Staff and secondary school pupils should continue to test twice weekly at home, with lateral flow device (LFD) test kits. Schools are encouraged to ask all visitors to take an LFD test before entering the school. Young people aged 5 to 18 and fully vaccinated adults who are identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 can take an NHS LFD test every day for 7 days and continue to attend their school or college as normal, unless they have a positive test result.

People with COVID-19 in England can now end their self-isolation after 5 full days, as long as they test negative on day 5 and day 6. Every child aged 12 and over is eligible to receive the vaccine. Healthy 12 to 15 year olds can have a second dose 12 weeks after their first dose. All 16 to 17 year olds will be offered the booster vaccination, which can be booked through the national booking system.

We have provided carbon dioxide monitors backed by £25 million in government funding. Over 99% of eligible maintained schools, further education colleges, and the majority of early years education providers have now received a carbon dioxide monitor with over 350,000 now delivered. The government has also made available a number of funded air cleaning units for poorly ventilated teaching spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible.

These changes come in response to national infection data showing the prevalence of COVID-19 to be on a downward trajectory. Whilst there are some groups where cases are likely to continue rising, it is likely that the Omicron wave has now peaked nationally. This means it is right that we remove the most stringent restrictions around wearing face coverings from education. However, COVID-19 is still with us, and continuing with proportionate protective measures remains vital to protecting education.