Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support the Government provides to schools to help them protect extremely clinically vulnerable (a) students and (b) staff from covid-19.

Most people identified as clinically extremely vulnerable are now well protected after receiving their primary and booster vaccination doses. An additional booster is now also being offered to all those aged five or above who are either at higher clinical risk from COVID-19 or who live with individuals at higher clinical risk, as part of the current autumn booster programme.

This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-safely-with-respiratory-infections-including-covid-19.

There remains a smaller number of people who, despite vaccination, are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19. This is due to a weakened immune system or other medical conditions that require enhanced protections such as those offered by antibody and antiviral treatments, additional vaccinations, and potentially other non-clinical interventions.

Children and young people with weakened immune systems should follow the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)’s advice for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk from COVID-19.

The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk.

Where staff, children, pupils or children have received advice from a specialist or clinician, they should follow this advice. This may be set out in an education, health and care plan.

In schools, given the low risk to children and young people, high levels of vaccination among the UK population, and a dominant variant that continues to be milder than in the past, public health advice is that there is no longer a need for specific COVID-19 guidance. Instead, UKSHA advise that COVID-19 can be managed like other respiratory infections. Schools should therefore be following the public health guidance set out by UKHSA.

This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities.

Over the last year, backed by £25 million in government funding, the Department has provided 386,699 CO2 monitors to state-funded education providers, including early years, schools and further education providers. CO2 monitors can support schools to identify poor areas of ventilation which will provide further reassurance that existing ventilation measures are working, especially over the winter months. As well as helping to identify areas that are poorly ventilated, CO2 monitors can be useful to help education providers balance good ventilation with keeping classrooms warm.

Where an area of poor ventilation has been identified that cannot be resolved through simple measures such as opening doors and windows, it may be appropriate for education providers to consider the use of an air cleaning unit while the underlying ventilation issue is addressed. In January, the Government committed to fulfil all eligible applications for air cleaning units to state-funded education settings for poorly ventilated teaching spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation were not possible. All eligible applications received have been fulfilled, with 8,026 air cleaning units distributed by 24 June 2022. All units delivered use high efficiency particulate air.

The Department will continue to review any emerging evidence, public health guidance, and advice to help ensure that schools remain as safe as possible.