Thank you for contacting me about coronavirus safety measures in schools and colleges.
I appreciate constituents’ concerns about the safety of education settings. Schools are important not only to pupils’ learning, but also to their mental and physical wellbeing, and the priority is for education settings to deliver high-quality education face-to-face, to all children and learners.
As a consequence, a number of safety measures are in place to reduce levels of transmission in schools and colleges. I understand that where there are outbreaks in educational settings, pupils and staff may be contacted by Test and Trace.
People who are fully vaccinated and identified as a contact of someone with COVID-19 – whether Omicron or not – should take an NHS rapid lateral flow test every day for 7 days to help slow the spread of COVID-19. This includes all children aged 5 to 18 years old, regardless of their vaccination status. If any of these lateral flow tests come back positive or if COVID-19 symptoms develop, the contact should self-isolate. If you test positive on a lateral flow device you should just record the result on gov.uk and begin self-isolating as there is no longer a need to take a PCR test to confirm the result. This is to ensure that our testing capacity reaches those who need it most. As of 17th January, the minimum self-isolation period will be reduced to five full days. People who have tested positive for Covid-19 may leave self-isolation after five full days if they test negative on day five and day six. People must stay in self-isolation until they have had two negative tests on consecutive days. The default self-isolation period continues to be ten days.
Face coverings are no longer required in indoor communal areas or in classrooms across educational settings. I have been assured that this is because the national data shows the prevalence of COVID-19 is on a downward trajectory. Other guidance remains including robust hygiene measures, regular testing and ventilation in occupied indoor areas. Educational settings can open external windows to improve natural ventilation, and in addition, opening internal doors can also assist with creating a throughput of air.
However, schools should balance the need for ventilation while maintaining a comfortable temperature, particularly during the colder months. For those settings where this is not possible, the Department for Education has been distributing 9,000 air purifiers to schools that are unable to easily increase clean airflow.
I am encouraged that the Department for Education has so far spent £25 million on installing CO2 monitors, with 350,000 having already been distributed since the start of the academic year.
I am concerned of the impact that previous lockdowns have had on young people and the long-term effect on their education. I have raised my concerns in Parliamentary debates on this subject. Statistics show that there are now 100,000 children nationally who have simply dropped off school rolls during and since Covid.
I note recent academic reports, including from the British Medical Journal, which has shown that there was very little risk of transmission of disease between adults and children at school. I fear that the damage caused will take years to put right.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.