Pre-school Education: Coronavirus

(asked on 15th December 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education,with reference to the spread of the omicron variant of covid-19, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) resourcing and (b) support provided to (i) nurseries and (ii) early years childcare providers on the provision of (A) improved ventilation and (B) other covid-19 mitigation measures in those settings.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 5th January 2022

We continue to publish comprehensive guidance to help the early years sector provide a safe and secure environment for children and staff.

This guidance explains the control measures that settings should take to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This includes maintaining good hygiene and appropriate cleaning regimes, keeping spaces well-ventilated, and following public health advice on testing, self-isolation, wearing face coverings and managing confirmed cases.

These UK Health Security Agency-endorsed control measures create an environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures. This has been updated in the light of the emergence of the Omicron variant, although the ways to help control COVID-19 remain the same.

To help keep spaces well ventilated, all nurseries, and childminders operating on domestic premises in groups of 4 or more, receiving state-funding, were included in the carbon dioxide monitor roll out which took place last term. The new monitors will enable staff to identify areas where ventilation needs to be improved and provide reassurance that existing ventilation measures are working, helping balance the need for good ventilation with keeping rooms warm. We are also providing an additional 7,000 air cleaning units for early years settings, schools and colleges. This will improve ventilation in settings and help to minimise disruption to face-to-face education and care.

We continue to monitor the early years sector for staffing issues, including through engagement with local authorities. We have provided significant support to protect education and childcare providers from the impact of COVID-19. We remain committed to doing everything possible to protect face-to-face education and care, and keeping early years settings open for all children.

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