Oral Answers to Questions

Feryal Clark Excerpts

Monday 1st March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend raises an important opportunity with this new access to technology—access to technology that so many children have benefited from —and making sure that it lasts for a long time. We have invested £4.3 million in supporting schools to get on to new digital platforms, and we very much hope that they really take the opportunity to use these platforms to get the very best for their students.

If I may, however, I will also give a little plug for the new Turing scheme. The Turing scheme will not be about visiting people digitally, but—and this is hard to imagine, as it seems such a long time since we were able to enjoy foreign travel—about enabling children to visit different destinations right around the globe and to learn languages in person, as well as through a digital platform.

[Feryal Clark (Enfield North) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to help keep staff in (a) early years settings, (b) special schools and (c) alternative provision safe during the covid-19 outbreak.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to help ensure that early years and childcare settings are covid-19 secure.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Vicky Ford)]

All settings must comply with health and safety law. They should follow our guidance so that systems of control are in place to reduce the risk of transmission for pupils and staff, and we have bespoke guidance for special schools, alternative provision and early years settings. Furthermore, to keep covid out of the classrooms and other settings, we have expanded testing to schools, pre-schools and nurseries.

[Feryal Clark [V]]

Covid cases in early years providers have nearly doubled since the first week of January to the highest level so far seen during this pandemic, and many nursery workers and childminders have been understandably worried about continuing to look after all children in lockdown, without a proper explanation of why this is safe and without a clear plan to ensure that providers can access proper mass testing and the personal protective equipment they need. Why have the Government done so little to reassure them?

[Vicky Ford]

The earliest years are the most crucial point of a child’s development, and we know that caring for our youngest children cannot be done remotely. The current evidence continues to show that pre-school children under the age of five are less susceptible to covid and unlikely to have a driving role in transmission. All the data that we base decisions on is public, and further scientific evidence was shared just last week.