Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the proposals by the National Education Union for provision of personal protective equipment to staff working in SEND settings where pupil behaviour poses a risk of airborne transmission of covid-19; and if he will make a statement.

To prevent the spread of coronavirus, education, childcare and children’s social care settings must use a range of protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission of infection. This includes:

• making sure that pupils do not attend if they or a member of their household has symptoms
• promoting high standards of hand and respiratory hygiene
• cleaning touched surfaces more frequently
• minimising contact and mixing as much as possible
• using (Personal Protective Equipment) PPE where appropriate

Where PPE is recommended, this means that:

• a facemask should be worn if a distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained from someone with symptoms of coronavirus
• if contact is necessary, then gloves, an apron and a facemask should be worn
• if a risk assessment determines that there is a risk of fluids entering the eye from, for example, coughing, spitting or vomiting, then eye protection should also be worn

The majority of staff in education, childcare and children’s social care settings will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work, even if they are not always able to maintain distance of 2 metres from others. Additional PPE is only needed if a distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained from any child, young person or other learner displaying coronavirus symptoms.

There are a small number of medical procedures which increase the risk of transmission through aerosols (tiny droplets) being transferred from the patient to the care giver. These are known as aerosol generating procedures (AGPs). These are undertaken for a very small number of children with complex needs, such as those receiving tracheostomy care. Staff performing AGPs should follow Public Health England’s personal protective equipment (PPE) guidance on aerosol generating procedures, and wear the correct PPE which is:

• a FFP 2/3 respirator
• gloves
• a long-sleeved fluid repellent gown
• eye protection

The respirator required for AGPs must be fitted correctly (known as ‘fit testing’) by an individual trained to do this. Staff in education and children’s social care settings that need support with fit testing should contact the appropriate health lead for the child/young person. This could be either via the Designated Clinical Officer for special educational needs and disabilities for support from the local Clinical Commissioning Group, or via the lead nursing team in the health provider. The full guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control/covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-ppe#ppe-guidance-by-healthcare-context.

The department has worked with Public Health England to develop further guidance on safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, including the use of PPE. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe.