Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional support will he provide schools to ensure that they can safely open in January.

The government is clear on the critical importance of avoiding disruption to children and young people’s education. Therefore, the priority is to keep all schools open. We have set out clear plans for schools opening in January.

The department has also reintroduced face coverings for all adults in schools and for pupils and students in year 7 and above in communal areas, and from 4 January, in classrooms. This is a temporary measure.

Schools must continue to comply with health and safety law and put in place proportionate control measures in line with our guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak. This includes ensuring good hygiene, cleaning, keeping occupied spaces well ventilated and following the latest public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19.

From Tuesday 14 December, young people and fully vaccinated adults who are identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 can take an NHS rapid lateral flow test every day for seven days and continue to attend their school or college as normal unless they have a positive test result.

Every child aged 12 and over is eligible to receive the vaccine. Healthy 12 to 15-year-olds can have a second dose 12 weeks after their first dose. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced the acceleration of our COVID-19 booster programme to offer every adult in England a booster jab by the end of 2021 to protect people from the Omicron variant.

Testing remains important in reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 within schools and colleges. All secondary schools have been asked to test their pupils once on-site, using lateral flow tests, on return in January. Tests, personal protective equipment, and funding to support the school workforce will be provided.

Secondary schools have had the option to stagger the return to school for the first week to accommodate on-site testing.

The department has also supported schools, colleges, and nurseries to improve ventilation. The department has also provided CO₂ monitors to state-funded schools, colleges and nurseries backed by £25 million in government funding. Over 99% of eligible maintained schools, further education colleges, and the majority of nurseries have now received a carbon dioxide monitor with over 300,000 now delivered. The government is also making available at least 7,000 funded air cleaning units for poorly ventilated teaching spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible.

Additionally, the department has put in place support to help schools facing workforce shortages. This includes calling on former teachers with the time and skills to return to the classroom and re-introducing the COVID-19 workforce fund to provide financial support to eligible schools and colleges for absence costs incurred from 22 November until the spring half term.

Finally, to ease some of the burden there will also be a short temporary break from Ofsted inspections during the first week of term. Ofsted will also encourage providers that have been hit badly by COVID-19 related staff absence to ask for a deferral in planned inspections, and have confirmed that they will not ask school leaders to participate in the delivery of inspections for the spring term.