Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when updated guidance will be provided to schools on the safe running of transitional, taster and open days for new pupils in advance of the autumn 2021 term.

Schools can offer transitional, taster or open days to pupils from other schools within the existing framework of restrictions.

Schools should complete thorough risk assessments before running transitional, taster and open days in schools, to ensure that they are run in line with their system of controls and align with the advice contained within school guidance and the roadmap out of lockdown: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak?priority-taxon=b350e61d-1db9-4cc2-bb44-fab02882ac25 and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021-summary#step-3---not-before-17-may.

This means that traditional transitional days are unlikely to be feasible this year, but the Department is keen not to restrict individual schools from designing events which maintain the integrity of bubbles and adhere to the system of controls in place.