Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure the safety of staff at early years settings during the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.

Early years settings remain low risk environments for children and staff. The department has worked collaboratively with Public Health England (PHE) to develop a system of controls which, when implemented in line with a revised risk assessment, create an environment where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced for children and staff.

Current evidence suggests that the PHE endorsed ‘system of controls’ that have been in use throughout the COVID-19 outbreak continue to be the right measures to take. These are set out in ‘Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak’, which includes:

• minimising contact with individuals who are unwell,
• use of face coverings for adults in corridors and communal areas,
• cleaning hands and good respiratory hygiene,
• regular thorough cleaning,
• minimising contact,
• use of PPE where specifically advised,
• good ventilation.

Further guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.

Settings must comply with health and safety law, which requires them to assess risks and put in place proportionate control measures. Settings should thoroughly review their health and safety risk assessment and draw up plans on re-opening, in the event that they have to close. Settings should have active arrangements in place to monitor that the controls are effective, working as planned, and updated appropriately, for example when any issues are identified, or when there are changes in public health advice.

When conducting risk assessments, settings should ensure consideration is given to staff and children with protected characteristics from groups where a disparity has been shown by the review of disparities in risks and outcomes (for example, age and sex, where someone lives, deprivation, ethnicity and/or people’s occupation).

The department is continuing to work closely with colleagues across government and local authorities to secure the most effective approach to asymptomatic testing for the whole of the early years sector. We are rolling out our asymptomatic testing programme to primary schools with deliveries of test kits which started from the week commencing 18 January 2021. The Department for Education’s asymptomatic testing programme will offer all primary school, schools-based nursery and maintained nursery school staff home lateral flow device test kits for twice weekly testing. This will help to break the chains of transmission of COVID-19 in education settings by identifying asymptomatic positive cases. Those who test positive will then self-isolate, helping to reduce transmission of the virus.

In addition, community testing programmes are currently being rolled out across the country. They are led by local authorities and provide asymptomatic testing through testing sites based in the local community. This testing is primarily focused on those who have to leave home to work during lockdown, with local authorities able to focus on the right people in their areas and decide how the testing is best delivered. The purpose is to help people who are playing essential roles to keep the country going, and to give them knowledge to protect themselves, loved ones and colleagues. Local authorities are in different stages of delivering community testing. We have encouraged local authorities to prioritise early years for community testing.

Early years staff, as critical workers, continue to have priority access to Department of Health and Social Care-led symptomatic polymerase chain reaction testing via the online portal: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested.

We are having ongoing discussions about providing testing via the education testing programme as well as encouraging local authorities to consider prioritising appropriate testing for private, voluntary and independent settings and childminders via the community testing programme, which is being rolled out to all local authorities. Furthermore, regarding vaccinations, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems. As the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age.

Under the priority groups for the first phase of vaccine rollout, those over 50 years of age, and all those 16 years of age and over in a risk group, would be eligible for vaccination within the first phase of the programme. This prioritisation captures almost all preventable deaths from COVID-19.

Regarding the next phase of vaccine rollout, the JCVI have asked that DHSC consider occupational vaccination in collaboration with other government departments. The department is inputting into this cross-governmental exercise.