Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has plans to publish additional advice on the return after the 2020 Christmas holidays for middle schools operating within the three-tier school system during the covid-19 outbreak.

From Wednesday 6 January a new national lockdown came into effect and schools should already be following the new rules. Schools, including middle schools, should only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend face to face education. All other pupils will learn remotely.

We know that receiving face to face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement, and we will review the restrictions on schools to ensure that children and young people return to face to face education as soon as the pressures are easing on the NHS. Limiting attendance at this time is about reducing the number of contacts that people have with other households given the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and the intense pressure on the NHS.

For those pupils and staff still attending school, the system of protective measures that the Department has asked schools to implement continues to ensure that any risks are well managed and controlled.