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Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2022 to Question 22411 on Coronavirus: Schools, whether she has provided guidance to schools on the findings of the Rapid Covid-19 Air Disinfection Study; if she will place a copy of the findings of that study in the Library; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The Rapid Covid-19 Air Disinfection Study, which has been renamed the Bradford classroom air cleaning technology (class-ACT) trial, is a project looking at the implications and potential benefits of fitting schools with air cleaning technology.

This trial was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and managed through the UK Health Security Agency. The study is run from the Centre for Applied Education Research which is based at the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the UK. Officials from the Department for Education sat on the working group of the trial. The trial has concluded and the academic leads intend to make the results available by publishing in a peer reviewed journal in due course. As the results have not yet been published, no guidance has been provided.

The Department recognises that good ventilation can reduce the spread of respiratory infections and has provided CO₂ monitors to all eligible state funded settings in England. These monitors enable staff to identify areas where ventilation needs to be improved and provide reassurance that existing ventilation measures are working. This helps balance the need for good ventilation and keeping classrooms warm. The Department has also provided over 9,000 air cleaning units (ACUs) to over 1,300 settings that had sustained high CO₂ readings of above 1500ppm. These ACUs work through high efficiency particulate air filter technology.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2022 to Question 22411 on Coronavirus: Schools, (a) when in October 2022 she expects to receive the findings of the Rapid Covid-19 Air Disinfection Study; (b) whether she will place in the Library of the House of Commons copies of such presentations as she or the Secretary of State for Education intend to share with school leaders and teachers; and (c) what arrangements she has made to share the findings with trade unions representing teachers and also trade unions representing other school staff.

Answered by Caroline Johnson

The Rapid Covid-19 Air Disinfection Study plan to share interim results with the UK Health Security Agency and the Department for Education shortly. The results will subsequently be published in peer reviewed journals. While there are no current plans to share findings with any third parties at present, results will be made available to school leaders, teachers, trade unions and all other interested parties in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 6 January 2022 to Question 94344 on Schools: Coronavirus, whether the trial of ventilation technologies taking place in primary classrooms in Bradford has concluded; between which dates the trial was actively collecting data; when he expects to publish the results of that trial; how he plans to disseminate the results of that trial; what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on that trial; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Maggie Throup

The Rapid Covid-19 Air Disinfection Study (RCADS) is due to report in October 2022. The trial commenced data collection in September 2021 and is ongoing. The results will be published in due course following the end the of the trial and disseminated through peer reviewed journals, presentations at conferences for members of the scientific community, school leaders and teachers and across the Government. Delivery of the study is overseen by the RCADS Working Group, which includes officials from Department for Education.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice the UK Health Security Agency has given (a) schools and (b) the Department for Education on measures to tackle outbreaks of covid-19 in schools; and if he will place a copy of that advice in the Library.

Answered by Maggie Throup

The Department for Education has provided guidance for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic on the principles of managing local outbreaks, including variants of concern, in education and childcare settings. This guidance is used locally by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) health protection teams and local authorities to work with individual settings. The UKHSA does not provide guidance directly to schools.

The UKHSA was commissioned to provide public health advice to the Department for Education to inform development of its operational guidance. We are unable to provide a copy of this advice as it relates to the development of Government policy on managing outbreaks of COVID-19 in educational settings. However, this advice was informed by standardised outbreak control processes used by local health protection teams in response to outbreaks of other infectious diseases.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has he made of trends in the levels of outbreaks of covid-19 in (a) schools and (b) teaching staff.

Answered by Maggie Throup

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not made a formal assessment. However, the UKHSA monitors the number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, incidence per 100,000 population, and testing and positivity rates in the ‘educational-age’ cohorts including nursery, primary school, secondary school and university.

In addition, the UKHSA also publishes weekly data on the number of suspected acute respiratory infection outbreaks and confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks reported to Health Protection Teams, by educational setting.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on provision of free covid-19 testing for teachers and support staff working with children with underlying health conditions after 1 April 2022.

Answered by Maggie Throup

The Government is removing the guidance for staff and students in most education and childcare settings to undertake twice weekly asymptomatic testing. Staff and secondary age students and above in special schools, alternative provision, Special Educational Needs/Alternative Provision units within schools and colleges and open and secure children’s homes, are advised to continue regular twice weekly testing until the end of March 2022. From 1 April 2022, there will be limited symptomatic testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. We will set out further details on eligible groups in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination programme for children in order to prevent school absences.

Answered by Lord Kamall

School-aged children aged 12 years old and over are receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in schools through the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) and in community settings. To accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations in schools, the National Health Service has been working to increase the scale and pace of delivery, as well as targeting communications to parents, young people and the public to improve uptake and increase overall confidence in the programme.

On 13 December 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to local health systems on offering a second dose to 12 to 15 year olds. This set out preparations for the winter break offer in out of school settings and the spring term offer for readiness from 10 January 2022 in school settings. The letter set out steps to ensure that SAIS providers and NHS systems have sufficient capacity to vaccinate children in school; there are settings outside of school where children can receive their vaccinations if necessary; there are appropriate vaccination opportunities to cater for different vaccination timelines; and the vaccination workforce has received appropriate training. A copy of the letter is attached.

As of 31 January 2022, at-risk children under 12 years old who are prioritised for COVID-19 vaccination are being offered the vaccine in out of school settings.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to authorise school absences of children in risk groups as defined by table 4, the Green Book Chapter 14a, until they have been fully vaccinated and obtained maximum protection.

Answered by Robin Walker

Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing and long-term development. School attendance is mandatory and parents have a duty, under section 7 of the Education Act 1996, to ensure that their child of compulsory age receives an efficient full-time education either by attendance at school or otherwise.

Following expert clinical advice and the successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine programme, people previously considered to be particularly vulnerable, clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV), and high or higher-risk are no longer advised to shield.

Children and young people previously considered CEV should attend school and should follow the same COVID-19 guidance as the rest of the population. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus. If, however, a child or young person has been advised to isolate or reduce their social contact by their specialist, due to the nature of their medical condition or treatment, they should continue to follow the advice of their specialist. The NHS is also now vaccinating the most at risk 5 to 11-year-olds.

Schools are responsible for recording absence in the register using the most appropriate code in line with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. As usual, school leaders continue to have discretion to grant leaves of absence in exceptional circumstances. Where a pupil is not attending school for reasons related to COVID-19, we expect the school to offer them immediate access to remote education. Schools must also have regard to the expectations for remote education which are available here: https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk/statutory-obligations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2022 to Question 94344 on Schools: Coronavirus, what engagement he has had with representatives of businesses (a) manufacturing and (b) fitting air purification technology in the UK (i) before the tender was published, (ii) after the tender was published but before the contract was awarded and (iii) since the contract was awarded.

Answered by Maggie Throup

This tendering was undertaken initially by NHS Test and Trace who explored the market with a variety of representatives of businesses involved in manufacturing and fitting air purification technologies prior to issuing the tender. There was no engagement with businesses involved with this technology between issuing the tender and awarding the contract. The UK Health Security Agency followed public procurement policy, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-sector-procurement-policy

Officials have ongoing discussions with successful suppliers as part of setting up the study and the ongoing management of the contract(s).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she made of the impact on (a) children aged five to 11 who are clinically extremely vulnerable or who have a close relative who is immunosuppressed and (b) the staff working with those children who are either clinically extremely vulnerable or have a close relative who is immunosuppressed, of allowing children aged five to 11 in families where there is a confirmed covid-19 case to continue attending school; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Robin Walker

The department will always prioritise the health and welfare of staff, pupils and students.

At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, shielding was introduced as one of the few ways to support those who, at the time, were considered clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV).

The situation is now very different to when shielding was first introduced. We know a lot more about COVID-19 and what makes someone more or less vulnerable to the virus. The vaccine continues to be successfully rolled out, and other treatments and interventions are becoming available.

We are committed to protecting education, which is why the safety measures are based on the latest scientific advice and strike a balance between managing transmission risk with measures such as regular testing, enhanced ventilation and hygiene, and reducing disruption to face-to-face learning.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have not advised people to shield since 1 April 2021, and people previously identified as CEV were advised to follow the same guidance as the general population. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do.

All children and young people previously considered CEV were advised to return to childcare and education provision when shielding paused on 1 April. The decision to include children as part of the CEV group was based on the information that we had at the time. Now that we have more evidence, the clinical review panel has been able to recommend that all children and young people are no longer considered to be CEV and have been removed from the Shielded Patient List. However, if a child or young person has been advised to isolate or reduce their social contact by their specialist, due to the nature of their medical condition or treatment, they should continue to follow the advice of their specialist.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that children aged 5 to 11 in a clinical risk group, and household contacts of individuals who are immunosuppressed, should be offered 2 10mcg doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, with an interval of 8 weeks between the first and second doses. The NHS is working through updated guidance and will set out how this is going to be operationalised in due course.

Vaccines remain an effective measure against COVID-19. We recommend all school staff take up the offer of a vaccine.

Education providers should continue to ensure good hygiene for everyone, maintain appropriate cleaning regimes, keep spaces well ventilated and follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19. They should continue to conduct risk assessments for their particular circumstances and take appropriate action in line with our guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

It is important that we reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education, particularly given that the direct clinical risks to children are extremely low. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health, which is why children should continue to attend their education provision, unless they are symptomatic or test positive for COVID-19. All students and pupils aged 5 and above are strongly advised to take seven daily lateral flow device tests if they are identified by Test and Trace as a close contact of a confirmed positive case.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional steps he will take to tackle covid-19 infection spread in schools and prevent a return to pre-Christmas levels of infection in school age children.

Answered by Robin Walker

COVID-19 continues to be a virus that we learn to live with, and it remains imperative that we reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced on 19 January 2022 that the temporary introduction of Plan B is to end. From 27 January, face coverings will no longer be advised for visitors, staff and secondary pupils in classrooms and communal areas. From this date, staff and pupils should follow wider advice on face coverings outside of school, including on transport to and from school.

There are a number of measures that will remain in place.

• Testing remains important in reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 within schools and colleges. The department asked secondary schools to provide one on-site test for all pupils upon return.
• Staff and secondary school pupils should continue to test twice weekly at home. Schools are strongly encouraged to ask parents and other visitors to take a lateral flow device (LFD) test before entering the school.
• Young people aged 5 to 18 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. All 16 and 17-year-olds have been offered the booster vaccination, which can be booked through the national booking system. The booster programme was accelerated to offer every adult in England a booster jab by the end of 2021.
• Children aged 5 to 11, who are in a clinical risk group or who are a household contact of someone (of any age) who is immunosuppressed, will be offered a primary course of vaccination.
• Frequent and thorough hand cleaning should now be regular practice. Schools should continue to ensure that pupils clean their hands regularly. The ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach continues to be very important. Schools should maintain appropriate cleaning regimes.

To improve ventilation, the department has provided CO2 monitors 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 353,000 now delivered. The government is also now making available at least 8,000 funded air cleaning units for poorly ventilated teaching spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible.

The contingency framework, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings, gives directors of public health a range of options for advising temporary measures in certain situations.

The department’s aim is for schools to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education to all pupils in as normalised an educational environment as is possible.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2022 to Question 94344 on Schools: Coronavirus, on what date discussions were first held between his Department and the the Department for Education on the trial’s (a) design, (b) funding and (c) timeline.

Answered by Maggie Throup

Officials from the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Education first held discussions on 6 November 2020.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2022 to Question 94344 on Schools: Coronavirus, how many applications for the tender were received; whether the tender specified a date by which preliminary results must be provided to Ministers and what that date was; and whether any applications were rejected despite offering an earlier date for either (a) preliminary results or (b) full results.

Answered by Maggie Throup

Two elements of the study were subject to a tendering process. The tender for upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation received three applications and the tender for air quality power management received six applications.

The tenders did not specify a required date by which preliminary or full results must be provided and no applications were rejected on the basis of reporting timelines.