Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the risks to school staff who work with children with special educational needs of contracting covid-19.

The assessment made in relation to the risk to school staff who work with children with special educational needs should be undertaken by the headteacher of the education setting. Headteachers should refer to the guidance regarding the wider opening of schools as of 1 June, which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june.

We expect schools and trusts to work closely with parents, staff and unions, as they normally would, when agreeing the best approaches for their circumstances. We also expect schools and trusts to work with their local authorities to determine what services they require and to agree on any specific arrangements during this period.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, education, childcare and children’s social care settings must use a range of protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission of infection. This includes making sure that pupils do not attend school if they, or a member of their household, experience symptoms. Other measures include promoting high standards of hand and respiratory hygiene, cleaning touched surfaces more frequently, minimising contact as much as possible and using personal protective equipment (PPE) where appropriate.

Where PPE is recommended, this means that a facemask should be worn if a distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained from someone with symptoms of COVID-19 and, if contact is necessary, then gloves, an apron and a facemask should be worn. If a risk assessment determines that there is a risk of fluids entering the eye from coughing, spitting or vomiting, for example, eye protection should also be worn.

The majority of staff in education, childcare and children’s social care settings will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work, even if they are not always able to maintain distance of 2 metres from others. Additional PPE is only needed if a distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained from any child, young person or other learner displaying COVID-19 symptoms.

The department has worked with Public Health England to develop further guidance on safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, including the use of PPE. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings.