Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate the Government has made of the rate of transmission of covid-19 in SEND schools in England; what steps his Department is taking to support SEND schools in Bolton to reduce covid-19 transmission; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of prioritising SEND school staff in the covid-19 vaccination rollout.

The Department continues to work closely with other government departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector. We continue to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to continue to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.

The Department has recently published updated guidance for special schools and other specialist settings, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings.

The Department has also published its evidence summary on COVID-19 – children, young people and education settings, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963639/DfE_Evidence_summary_COVID-19_-_children__young_people_and_education_settings.pdf

The system of control measures as outlined in our guidance create an environment for staff, children, and young people where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced. Schools, colleges and nurseries, therefore, need to continue to implement these controls to the fullest extent possible.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them. The JCVI have advised that the second phase of vaccine prioritisation should continue to be based on age. They advise that an age-based approach remains the most effective way of reducing death and hospitalisation from COVID-19 and will ensure more people are protected more quickly. The second phase of the vaccine rollout will begin from mid-April and will aim to offer every adult aged 18 and over a first dose of the vaccine by 31 July.