Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all Pupil Referral Units will remain open to maintain the safety of pupils during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government has asked providers of alternative provision (AP), including pupil referral units, to work with local authorities to consider the best way to support vulnerable children and those of critical workers who cannot remain safely at home, including by keeping AP settings open where it is safe and feasible to do so. If that isn’t possible our expectation is that local authorities and AP providers will need to assess the safeguarding needs of those children on a case by case basis, working with social workers and other agencies to make appropriate arrangements.

The government has published questions and answers about the provisions being made for vulnerable children and young people, which can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people.