COVID-19 Updates
May 12, 2020
**This information is received from the government and regularly updated
11/05/2020
The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy
The government has published its roadmap for how and when the UK will adjust its response to the coronavirus outbreak. This document describes the progress the UK has made to date in tackling the coronavirus outbreak and sets out the plans for moving to the next phase of its response to the virus.
The roadmap can be found here:
Frequently asked questions on what you can and can’t do during the coronavirus outbreak have also been published. Those relating to schools and childcare can be found at section 6:
Actions for education and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June
From 1 June we expect to be able to ask primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6. We will also ask secondary schools, sixth form and further education colleges to offer some face-to-face support before the summer holidays to supplement the remote education of year 10 and year 12 students who are due to take key exams next year. Nurseries and other early years providers, including childminders, will also be asked to begin welcoming back children from 1 June. Existing arrangements for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers in all settings will continue, and we encourage all eligible children in these priority groups to attend.
We have published guidance for education and childcare settings on the actions required to prepare for wider opening from 1 June. In this document we set out the overarching aims and principles of this next phase. We will work with the sector to produce further guidance ahead of 1 June.
The guidance can be found here:
Implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings
We have published guidance on the implementation of protective measures in education and childcare settings. There are important actions that can be taken to open settings to more children in the safest way possible, focusing on protective measures that can be put in place to limit the risk of the virus spreading.
The guidance can be found here:
Guidance for parents and carers as schools and other education settings in England open to more children and young people
We have published guidance for parents and carers on the opening of schools and other education settings to more children. This guidance provides information on when and how we will open education settings to more children.
The guidance can be found here:
The information below has not changed.
Department for Education coronavirus helpline
The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Opening hours:
8am to 6pm – Monday to Friday
10am to 4pm – Saturday and Sunday
If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the helpline.
Handwashing advice
It is essential that everyone washes their hands more often, using soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Hand washing with soap employs mechanical action that loosens bacteria and viruses from the skin, rinsing them into the drain. Drying hands afterwards makes the skin less hospitable to the virus. Hand sanitiser can be effective if soap is not available or the situation makes using soap less feasible (i.e. when outside) but using hand sanitiser provides none of the virus-destroying friction that rubbing your hands together and rinsing with water provides.
The latest guidance and video on hand washing can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene.
Resources are currently available for KS1, KS2 and KS3 and can be used in various settings including schools and at home:
Collection of guidance for educational settings on GOV.UK
All of the Department for Education’s coronavirus guidance for educational settings can now be found in one place on GOV.UK at:
Our main schools guidance, the ‘actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak’ will be regularly kept up to date. Any new advice for schools on specific issues, such as food, exams or safeguarding, will be linked from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures