Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department has had with headteachers on ensuring a sufficient supply of face coverings during the covid-19 outbreak from 8 March 2021.

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 (DHSC), as well as stakeholders across the sector. We continue to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.

We recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March. This guidance includes updated advice on face coverings and how to access them. Due to the increasing use of face coverings in wider society, staff and pupils are already likely to have access to face coverings. In our guidance, we recommend that all schools should have a small contingency stock of face coverings available, in case an individual has forgotten or damaged their own. The guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance.

Within our guidance, we signpost to the wider DHSC guidance on face coverings. This guidance outlines what a face covering is, the reasons for using a face covering, when to wear a face covering and exemptions. In the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, a face covering is something which safely covers the nose and mouth. This includes reusable or single-use face coverings, a scarf, bandana, religious garment or hand-made cloth coverings. The face covering must securely fit around the side of the face. Face coverings are not classified as personal protective equipment, they are instead largely intended to protect other people (rather than the person wearing the face covering) against the spread of COVID-19 infection. The DHSC guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own.

PHE has also published guidance on how to make a simple face covering. This guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering.

To support the return to full attendance and to ensure maximum compliance with the system of controls, DHSC are currently in the process of distributing a delivery of between 5,000 and 7,500 units of free face coverings to all secondary schools and further education institutions for use as contingency stock.