Children's Centres and Youth Centres: Coronavirus

(asked on 15th December 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) assessment he has made of the potential impact of the omicron variant on (i) children’s centres and (ii) youth clubs, and (b) steps he is taking to help ensure holiday provision can remain safely open during the Christmas holidays.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 5th January 2022

​My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced on 8 December 2021 that England will move to Plan B following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the UK. Urgent work has been ongoing to understand the impact of the new variant with regards to vaccines, treatments and transmissibility. Further information on Plan B can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-confirms-move-to-plan-b-in-england.

Ensuring parents can continue to access childcare remains a priority for the government. The department recognises the important role childcare, such as Holiday Activity clubs, play in providing additional childcare options to parents and carers, as well as providing enriching activities and promoting the wellbeing of children. We have prioritised that these settings can remain open, and continue to encourage schools to ensure they are offering this provision, if they have it in place.

The government also recognises the significant impact of COVID-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and the important role of youth work in supporting their development and wellbeing. We are engaging regularly with key youth organisations and colleagues in other government departments to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the provision of vital services for young people and options for addressing this.

We have updated protective measures guidance for the sector, to ensure they can offer this provision as safely as possible, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Public health advice in this guidance includes UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)-endorsed control measures, which build on the hierarchy of protective measures that were in use throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. When implemented in line with a revised risk assessment, these measures create an environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced for children and staff.

Additionally, specific youth sector COVID-19 guidance has been developed by the National Youth Agency, in line with guidance published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, other youth sector organisations, union representatives and health and safety experts. Youth workers continue to be classified as key workers delivering frontline services, and currently all young people are able to attend indoor or outdoor youth provision.

The government continues to manage the risk of serious illness from the spread of the virus. COVID-19 continues to be a virus that we learn to live with, and the imperative to reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education and wellbeing remains.

We will continue to look closely at all the emerging data of the omicron variant but vaccines remain our best line of defence and it is now more vital than ever that those who are unvaccinated come forward, and those eligible for their boosters book when called.

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