Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to reduce the number of pupils in school during the covid-19 lockdown that began in January 2021.

During this period of national lockdown, schools should only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend face-to-face education. The Department has resisted restrictions on attendance at schools since the first lockdown but, given the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and the intense pressure on the NHS, we have needed to do more to reduce all our social contacts wherever possible. Limiting attendance at this time is about reducing the number of contacts that people have with other households.

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

On 7 January the Department published further guidance, ‘Restricting attendance during the national lockdown: schools’, which sets out what all schools need to do during the COVID-19 outbreak from January 2021. This includes the system of controls which schools must continue to implement, to the fullest extent possible, to reduce risks in their school and create an inherently safer environment. The guidance is available to view here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950510/School_national_restrictions_guidance.pdf.