Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support nurseries in Bolton to reduce transmission of covid-19; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of prioritising nursery staff in the covid-19 vaccination rollout.

We are grateful to early years staff as they continue to provide support to children and families during the period of national lockdown.

The department continues to work closely with other government departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector, to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to continue to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’, and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, children and parents.

As new evidence or data emerges, the department updates its advice accordingly to ensure that all our settings have the right safety measures in place. The latest guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.

The ‘system of controls’ measures outlined in our guidance create an environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced. Settings therefore need to continue to implement these controls to the fullest extent possible, including the new advice that face coverings are recommended in early years settings for staff and adult visitors in situations where social distancing between adults is not possible, for example, when moving around in corridors and communal areas.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the government on which vaccine/s the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them. The JCVI will provide advice on the next phase of the vaccine rollout. The government is committed to offering every adult a dose of the vaccine by 31 July 2021.

We continue to work with the early years sector to understand how they can best be supported to ensure that sufficient safe, appropriate and affordable childcare is available for those who need it now, and for all families who need it in the longer term.