Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education Settings Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education Settings

Greg Smith Excerpts
Wednesday 30th June 2021

(2 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Gavin Williamson Portrait Gavin Williamson
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It is fair to say that Liberal Democrats have never been very good at numbers. Actually, schools are open right across the country—they are welcoming children. Millions of children are in school, benefiting from being with their teachers, and we continue to take action to ensure we do everything we can to maximise the number of children there. As part of step 4, as I touched on earlier, we will be looking at lifting more restrictions; that will be announced in the near future.

Greg Smith Portrait Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)
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I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s work to keep schools open and his ambition to see the end of the bubble system, but may I ask him to look at a cohort of children who risk being caught up negatively by covid guidance and restrictions: those who are due to start primary school this September? I declare an interest in that my own son is due to start school this September. Under the current guidance, schools are unable to run the settling-in sessions that are essential for children to familiarise themselves with their new environment and have the best start in school life. Will my right hon. Friend take action to ensure that those settling-in sessions can happen?

Gavin Williamson Portrait Gavin Williamson
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I will share some of the guidance that we have. There is flexibility for schools, for those key transition years, to have some level of familiarisation with those children. I will organise it that my office shares that information with my hon. Friend.