Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that the partial re-opening of schools in England from 1 June 2020 does not lead to a reduction of school hours offered to the children of key workers.

The Department has provided guidance explaining that the children of any parent who works in a critical sector or are critical to the COVID-19 response will be prioritised for education provision regardless of the year group they are in:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

It makes clear that, now that we have made progress in reducing the transmission of COVID-19, we are encouraging all eligible children to attend school (where there are no shielding concerns for the child or their household), even if parents are able to keep their children at home.

The Department has also published guidance for schools to prepare for wider opening of schools:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june

The planning guide for primary schools explains that if schools cannot reach an arrangement that enables all eligible children to attend consistently, schools should focus first on continuing to provide places for priority groups of all year groups (children of critical workers and vulnerable children).

The advice to secondary schools on preparing for wider opening from the 15 June states that children of critical workers and vulnerable children in all year groups should be encouraged to attend school full-time.