Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the eligibility for attendance at school by pupils during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown on (a) the numbers of children attending school and (b) the ability of schools to practice social distancing.

During this period of national lockdown, schools should allow only vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers to attend. All other pupils should not attend and should learn remotely.

The Department publishes weekly national-level data on pupil attendance. The data for 13 January shows that attendance in state primary schools in England was at 21% and at 5% in state secondaries. Further information on this data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Limiting attendance does not suggest that schools have become significantly less safe for young people. Instead, limiting attendance is about supporting the reduction of the overall number of social contacts in our communities.

For vulnerable children and young people, the children of critical workers who still attend school, and their teachers, the Public Health England endorsed system of protective measures that schools have been implementing throughout the autumn term means that any risks are well managed and controlled.

Schools should continue to minimise contact between individuals and maintain social distancing wherever possible as part of their wider set of protective measures. This can be achieved through keeping groups separate and by maintaining the distance between individuals. Whilst schools are attended by vulnerable children and the children of critical workers only, where possible, schools should keep group sizes small. Any additional space available where there are lower numbers of pupils attending should be used to maximise the distance between pupils, and between staff and other people.