Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, steps he is taking to improve understanding of the guidance on the use of personal protective equipment in (a) schools and (b) other educational settings.

COVID-19 related Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use is very limited for staff in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, and relates only to:

• when caring for a child or individual who develops symptoms while attending their setting (and only then if a distance of two metres cannot be maintained),
• when a child or individual already has routine intimate care needs that involve the use of PPE, for example when undertaking aerosol generating procedures.

Further guidance on the use of PPE in education and childcare settings is available through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe.

We continue to give schools and others in the education and childcare sectors information about our guidance, and any changes to it, through regular Departmental communications.