Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to schools for carrying out covid-19 track and trace on pupils and staff.

The Department has issued guidance which covers how to manage cases of COVID-19 amongst the school community. This recommends that schools keep a record of pupils and staff in each group, and any close contact that takes places between pupils and staff in different groups, to help identify close contacts.

Schools may receive support through the dedicated advice service introduced by Public Health England (PHE), which can be reached through the Department’s helpline on 0800 046 8687 or their PHE local health protection team if the case is escalated.