Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many schools have met the threshold specified in the Department for Education document Contingency framework: education and childcare settings for further steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within schools since the beginning of the academic year; and whether they will publish regular updates on this.

The department does not collect the data in question and does not currently have any plans to publish regular updates on this. However, we closely review data, analysis and advice from a number of different sources – including the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, and the Office for National Statistics. We also continue to work closely with local authorities and their Directors of Public Health to inform our planning and response.

The contingency framework describes the principles of managing local outbreaks of COVID-19 in education and childcare settings and sets out the measures that settings should be prepared for if they were advised to take extra measures to help break chains of transmission. It also sets out thresholds for managing COVID-19 cases and when settings should consider seeking public health advice.

As the guidance outlines, local authorities, Directors of Public Health (DsPH) and health protection teams (HPTs) can recommend measures described in the framework in individual education and childcare settings as part of their outbreak management responsibilities.

We have worked with the UKSHA to develop the thresholds outlined in the contingency framework. These are designed to help settings identify when it might be sensible to seek public health advice when it appears that COVID-19 might be spreading between people who closely mix in the setting. Identifying a group that is likely to have mixed closely will be different for each setting.

DsPH or HPTs will give settings advice reflecting the local situation. In areas where rates are high, this may include advice that local circumstances mean that the thresholds for extra action can be higher than set out in the contingency framework. This will take into account a range of factors reflecting the setting’s particular situation and local circumstances. If they judge that additional action should be taken, they might advise the setting to take some or all of the other measures described in the contingency framework.