Schools: Coronavirus

(asked on 24th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the risk from schools fully reopening of a small chain of covid-19 infection in schools leading to a wider outbreak; and if he will publish the advice he has received from SAGE on that matter.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 7th July 2020

We want to get more children back to school because it is vital for their education and their wellbeing. As such the Government has announced that all children will return to school from September.

On 2 July we published guidance to help schools plan for a full return of all pupils in the Autumn term:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools

The measures set out in this guidance provide a framework for head teachers to put in place proportionate protective measures for children and staff, which also ensure that all pupils receive a high quality education that enables them to thrive and progress. In welcoming all children back this Autumn, schools will be asked to minimise the number of contacts that a pupil has during the school day as part of implementing the system of controls outlined in the guidance to reduce the risk of transmission. If schools follow the guidance set out, they can be confident they are managing risk effectively.

The guidance also includes the process that should be followed if anyone develops COVID-19 symptoms while at school. This guidance has been developed with advice from, and is endorsed by, Public Health England.

SAGE publish papers from their meetings on a regular basis on the SAGE website. The list of papers released to date is available by following the link below, including several schools-related papers. This list will be updated to reflect papers considered at future meetings:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response.

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