Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has provided to (a) Pupil Referral Units and (b) other specialist or alternative education providers on regular physical contact with pupils during the covid-19 outbreak.

The department has published guidance to all schools, including Alternative Provision (AP) settings and pupil referral units (PRUs), on implementing social distancing in education and childcare settings. The guidance can be found at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings.

We have also issued wider guidance regarding ongoing provision for vulnerable children, including in AP and PRUs:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people.

We will support these settings, via local authorities and other key agencies, to identify the best way to protect young people in AP and PRUs, and to keep them open where it is feasible to do so.