Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made recommendations to school leaders in respect of prioritising building work and changes to the physical layout and facilities within schools over the summer holidays to reduce the transmission of covid-19 and other diseases in schools during autumn and winter.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has not made any recommendations this summer to school leaders on changes to the physical layouts and facilities. Maintaining adequate ventilation remains the responsibility of individual schools. The law states that employers, including education and childcare providers, must make sure there is an adequate supply of fresh air in enclosed areas of the workplace. This has not changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to provide lateral flow test kits to (a) staff and (b) pupils in education settings in the autumn term.
Answered by Will Quince
Public health advice is that testing is no longer advised for pupils, students, and staff in education and childcare settings. The success of the COVID-19 vaccination programme means that immunity levels are high. Therefore, testing takes a less important role in preventing serious illness. As such, the majority of free testing ended on 1 April.
The most effective protection against severe disease from COVID-19 for everyone, including those at higher risk from COVID-19, is to get vaccinated. The vaccine offer remains open to those who have yet to receive their primary course or where eligible, a booster. Additional protection is also available for some at-risk groups, through further boosters, antivirals, and therapeutics.
Most infectious diseases in education and childcare settings, including COVID-19, should now be managed by following the advice in UKHSA’s updated health protection in education and childcare settings guidance, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities. Students and staff are encouraged to follow UKHSA’s advice for those who have symptoms of COVID-19, available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection-including-covid-19.
The department has also updated its emergency planning and response guidance for educational settings. This sets out how education and childcare settings should plan for and deal with emergencies, including the possibility of future significant public health incidents. The guidance is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.
If pupils, students, and staff in education and childcare settings wish to continue testing, they will be able to access test kits through the private market. They can find a list of private providers for COVID-19 testing at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-private-providers-of-coronavirus-testing.
The government does not endorse or recommend any private providers. Lateral flow tests are also available to buy from pharmacies and supermarkets, including online.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations the Department for Education has made to either (1) the UK Health Security Agency, or (2) the Department of Health and Social Care, to encourage school staff to be given priority for COVID-19 booster vaccinations.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Identifying priority groups for vaccinations are clinical decisions taken by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), informed by advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI). JCVI advised that the primary objective of the 2022 autumn booster programme is to augment immunity in those at higher risk from COVID-19 and thereby optimise protection against severe COVID-19, specifically hospitalisation and death, over winter 2022/23.
Other school staff are currently not eligible to receive an autumn booster as part of this programme. However, staff who meet the central eligibility criteria are entitled to a free flu vaccination through the NHS, and schools can choose to provide flu vaccines for their staff through their occupational health services.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government announcement of 15 July 2022 that over-50s will be offered a flu jab and covid-19 booster this autumn, whether he has made any representations to the (a) UK Health Security Agency, (b) Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and (c) Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of prioritising school staff for vaccination.
Answered by Will Quince
Identifying priority groups for vaccinations are clinical decisions taken by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), informed by advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI). JCVI advised that the primary objective of the 2022 autumn booster programme is to augment immunity in those at higher risk from COVID-19 and thereby optimise protection against severe COVID-19, specifically hospitalisation and death, over winter 2022 to 2023.
Other school staff are currently not eligible to receive an autumn booster as part of this programme. However, staff who meet the central eligibility criteria are entitled to a free flu vaccination through the NHS, and schools can choose to provide flu vaccines for their staff through their occupational health services.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
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.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to issue guidance to schools on undertaking work during the 2022 summer school holidays to (a) improve ventilation and (b) reduce the risk of covid-19 transmission.
Answered by Robin Walker
Schools should always create a healthy indoor environment for occupants. This includes keeping spaces ventilated to reduce the concentration of pathogens in the air, such as COVID-19, and to manage indoor temperatures.
In 2017, the department published ‘Building Bulletin 101’, guidance for school design on ventilation, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality. This includes the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines and Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 for indoor air quality. The full publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/ventilation-thermal-comfort-and-indoor-air-quality-in-schools.
When carrying out works to make building improvements, schools should use the environmental standards set out in the department's ‘Employer’s requirements Part A: General conditions’ guidance. The current version was updated recently and published in November 2021. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/output-specification-generic-design-brief-and-technical-annexes.
The department has produced the ‘Good estate management for schools’ guidance, located on GOV.UK. The guidance provides education providers with resources and guidance on managing the estate, including reducing water and energy usage. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/health-and-safety
In the 2021/22 academic year, the department provided over 386,000 CO2 monitors to state-funded education providers, including early years, schools, and further education providers, backed by £25 million in government funding. The monitors enable staff to identify areas where ventilation needs to be improved and provide reassurance that existing ventilation measures are working, helping balance the need for good ventilation with keeping classrooms warm.
In January 2022, the government committed to fulfil all eligible applications for air cleaning units to state-funded education providers for poorly ventilated teaching spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible. The latest delivery figures can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/delivery-of-air-cleaning-units.
Maintaining adequate ventilation remains the responsibility of individual schools. The law says employers, including education and childcare providers, must make sure there is an adequate supply of fresh air in enclosed areas of the workplace. This has not changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Health and Safety Executive provides more information on this here: https://www.hse.gov.uk/ventilation/index.htm.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help protect clinically vulnerable members of staff from covid-19 in schools in England.
Answered by Robin Walker
Most people who were previously identified as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) are now well protected after receiving their primary and booster vaccination doses. For most people who were identified as CEV, they are no longer at substantially greater risk than the general population and are advised to follow the same guidance as everyone else on staying safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19, as well as any further advice they may have received from their doctor.
As individuals are now mixing in an otherwise open society, regular testing within education providers is no longer as effective as it once was at preventing transmission. Instead, the most effective protection against severe disease from COVID-19 for everyone, including those at higher risk from COVID-19, is to get vaccinated.
Education providers should undertake a risk assessment of individuals with clinical vulnerabilities attending the provider and, as employers, should be able to explain the measures they have in place to keep staff safe at work.
Those at higher risk may also wish to consider additional advice:
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Barran on 25 April (HL7840), what advice the UK Health Security Agency has given to education providers on managing the disposal of surplus COVID-19 test kits.
Answered by Lord Kamall
In April 2022, advice was issued to education providers that test kits which have expired should be disposed of in line with the requirements of the waste duty of care regulations. If more than one carton of lateral flow device test kits requires disposal, a waste contractor must be informed.
Kits within three months’ expiry and less than four cartons in pristine condition should be retained. We are currently undertaking a pilot exercise with 51 schools to collect excess stock, with the hope of deploying a wider returns exercise.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to make free covid-19 testing available for all (a) pupils, (b) staff and (c) exam invigilators over the current exam period; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
Public health advice continues to be that testing in education and childcare settings is no longer needed. Most infectious diseases in education and childcare settings can be managed by following the advice in UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) updated health protection in education and childcare settings guidance. Students and staff should follow UKHSA’s advice for those who have symptoms.
As individuals are now mixing in an otherwise open society, regular testing within school and colleges is no longer as effective as it once was. Instead, the most effective protection against severe disease from COVID-19 for everyone, including those at higher risk from COVID-19, is to get vaccinated.
Although settings may still have some unused test kits in stock, they should not continue to hand these out to staff or students or dispose of them (unless they have reached their expiry date).
The department are currently working with UKHSA to explore the options for removal of testing resources no longer required and repurpose or redeploy them as much as possible based on clinical need prioritisation.
In the meantime, settings should retain any surplus stock and may wish to note this in their contingency plans. The department has published emergency planning and responce guidance for education and childcare settings here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.
The department is also aware that some schools and colleges have reported finding the recruitment of invigilators more challenging this year. We are working with exam boards to monitor the risk and have supported recruitment by sharing The Exams Office’s vacancy map with pools of invigilators like parents and higher education students.
The Joint Council for Qualifications has published updated guidance for centres managing exams in case of invigilator shortage. This includes information about varying start times; alternative sites; invigilation ratios; use of subject teachers as invigilators; addressing challenges for individual candidates; and remote invigilation.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to immediately communicate to schools that they can use any stocks of lateral flow tests held locally; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
Public health advice continues to be that testing in education and childcare settings is no longer needed. Most infectious diseases in education and childcare settings can be managed by following the advice in UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) updated health protection in education and childcare settings guidance. Students and staff should follow UKHSA’s advice for those who have symptoms.
As individuals are now mixing in an otherwise open society, regular testing within school and colleges is no longer as effective as it once was. Instead, the most effective protection against severe disease from COVID-19 for everyone, including those at higher risk from COVID-19, is to get vaccinated.
Although settings may still have some unused test kits in stock, they should not continue to hand these out to staff or students or dispose of them (unless they have reached their expiry date).
The department are currently working with UKHSA to explore the options for removal of testing resources no longer required and repurpose or redeploy them as much as possible based on clinical need prioritisation.
In the meantime, settings should retain any surplus stock and may wish to note this in their contingency plans. The department has published emergency planning and responce guidance for education and childcare settings here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.
The department is also aware that some schools and colleges have reported finding the recruitment of invigilators more challenging this year. We are working with exam boards to monitor the risk and have supported recruitment by sharing The Exams Office’s vacancy map with pools of invigilators like parents and higher education students.
The Joint Council for Qualifications has published updated guidance for centres managing exams in case of invigilator shortage. This includes information about varying start times; alternative sites; invigilation ratios; use of subject teachers as invigilators; addressing challenges for individual candidates; and remote invigilation.