DfE Update - 3 September – Coronavirus
FAO: All Early Years Providers / All Schools / Children's Social Care / Further Education Providers
Department for Education
This is your email to keep you updated on the government’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19). If you have colleagues who would like to receive this email directly, please ask them to use this subscription form.
Today’s email includes information on:
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CO2 monitor delivery schedules for state-funded special schools
On Saturday 21 August we announced that CO2 monitors will be provided this term to state-funded education settings, including early years, schools and further education providers, backed by £25 million in government funding.
The new monitors will 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.
The first deliveries will start from next week to state-funded special schools. Special schools, alternative provision and residential schools have been prioritised to receive their monitors first, given their higher-than-average numbers of vulnerable pupils.
The delivery schedule for these schools, across weeks commencing Monday 6, 13 and 20 September, is now available on the ventilation document sharing platform. The delivery schedule also includes the number of monitors settings should receive.
If you have any queries about your expected delivery date or the number of monitors received, please check the delivery schedule in the first instance. As deliveries will take place throughout the week, please wait until the following week to query a missed delivery, which you can do by contacting the supplier:
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For any further queries about your DfE issued CO2 monitor(s) you can call the DfE COVID-19 helpline on 0800 046 8687.
Operational guidance will be available on the document sharing platforms next week.
How to record attendance of secondary school pupils in the first week of term
All secondary school age pupils should receive 2 on-site lateral flow device (LFD) tests, 3 to 5 days apart, on their return for the autumn term. Schools can stagger the return of pupils across their first week to manage this.
Schools should use code Y (unable to attend for exceptional circumstances) to record pupils who are not expected to attend school for lessons during the first week because of the asymptomatic testing programme and staggered return.
Pupils who are required to self-isolate during this period should continue to be recorded using code X (not attending in circumstances related to COVID-19).
Further information can be found in our guidance on school attendance.
Information for state-maintained schools on the National Tutoring Programme (NTP)
We are pleased to announce the launch of the second year of the NTP for the academic year 2021/22.
Last year saw over 300,000 pupils, whose learning was significantly impacted by the pandemic, benefit from catch-up tutoring and mentoring via the NTP. This year, we are aiming to reach thousands more pupils, all of whom will benefit from the support available.
Building on the success of the first phase of the NTP, we have listened to your feedback and expanded the programme. We recognise that each school has pupils with different needs. We have developed a tutoring offer that provides a high degree of flexibility and choice to support the pupils most in need.
Schools will now be able to consider three options available through NTP:
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All schools are encouraged to apply for the NTP. To register or find out more about the options available, please see the information about the National Tutoring Programme.
Information for schools and parents about international travel
As part of a safe and cautious reopening to international travel, the UK government’s travel lists have been updated. You may wish to remind parents of the following:
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Everyone who enters England having visited or transited through a red list country in the ten days before arriving in England must quarantine in a managed quarantine hotel. If parents are concerned about their ability to pay for managed quarantine, they may be offered a deferred payment plan and should call the Corporate Travel Management (CTM) helpline on +44 (0)20 7429 9983.
The information below has not changed since our last update
Department for Education COVID-19 helpline
The Department for Education COVID-19 helpline and the PHE Advice Service (option 1) is available to answer any questions you have about COVID-19 relating to education settings and children’s social care.
Department for Education guidance
Our guidance to support education providers, local authorities and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic can be accessed using the links below: