Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to maintain stringent covid-19 restrictions within schools beyond 19 July 2021.

In line with Step 4 of the Government’s roadmap, the majority of COVID-19 restrictions have now been relaxed across all parts of society in England.

The Department’s priority is for all schools and nurseries to deliver face-to-face, high quality education to all children, pupils and students. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, and mental and physical health. In making this decision, the Government has balanced education and health considerations, weighing the impact of these measures on teaching, wellbeing and the functioning of schools and nurseries, against the risks posed by COVID-19, in a context that has now fundamentally changed due to the success of the vaccination roll-out.

The Department has worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England to revise the guidance for schools and nurseries from Step 4. Schools should continue to ensure good hygiene for everyone, maintain appropriate cleaning regimes, keep occupied spaces well ventilated and follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The Department’s aim is to balance the risks associated with COVID-19 whilst moving to a ‘steady state’ that minimises both the burden of implementing control measures on staff and parents, and the impact that those measures have on young people’s educational experience.