DfE Coronavirus Update: 15 June 2021

COVID-19 Update

Jun 17

Written By Birmingham Early Years Networks

The below update comes from the Department for Education (DfE)’s daily coronavirus email update for all early years, children’s social care, schools and further education providers. If you would like to receive this email directly, please sign-up using this subscription form.

The Prime Minister’s announcement and what this means for some of your summer term activities

The government has always been clear that 21 June 2021 was an indicative date for progression to Step 4 of the roadmap, which would be guided by data and not dates.

Yesterday the government announced a 4-week pause at Step 3. Step 3 restrictions remain in place, including those set out in the COVID-19 operational guidance for your setting.

It is expected that England will move to Step 4 on 19 July 2021, although the data will be reviewed after 2 weeks in case the risks have reduced. The government will continue to monitor the data and the move to Step 4 will be confirmed one week in advance.

It is our priority that all education and childcare settings deliver face-to-face, high-quality provision to all children and students. At a time when further easing of restrictions has been paused, the current system of controls should continue to be implemented in education and childcare settings. This means settings should encourage staff, and students, where applicable, to continue to test twice weekly and student bubbles, where they exist, should stay in place. Early years settings should continue to minimise mixing by keeping children in consistent groups.

We will update schools, colleges and early years settings on plans for Step 4 as soon as possible.

We know you may have questions following the Prime Minister’s announcement about what this means for some of your summer term activities. The general principle is that early years, schools and colleges must continue to risk assess and plan activities in line with the system of controls and should follow government guidance. We have set out some positions on common activities below.

Sports days

Sports days can go ahead. In line with the rest of the system of controls, pupils and students must remain in their bubbles, and early years children should remain in their consistent groups as is usual for your setting. Sports equipment should be regularly cleaned throughout the event.  
 
Spectators must adhere to current social distancing requirements. Where events take place outdoors, spectators can gather in separate groups of up to 30 – the legal gathering limit. Multiple groups of 30 are permitted.  

Leavers events

Currently, you should avoid hosting large group gatherings indoors for more than one bubble (or in early years more than one consistent group), such as assemblies or mass worship. The schools COVID-19 operational guidance states that children should be kept in separate, independent groups (for example, their bubbles).

The early years guidance states you should minimise contact between groups within settings (for example, keeping children in consistent groups). The FE guidance also has advice on how to group students.

Outdoor events are generally lower risk. Once you have undertaken a risk assessment and planned your event in line with your system of controls, you may consider an outdoor event (for example a leavers’ celebration or prom) that caters for more than one bubble or consistent group, as long as the groups continue to be kept separate.

Any parents attending outdoor events must adhere to current social distancing requirements. Where outdoors spectators can gather in groups of up to 30 – the legal gathering limit. Multiple groups of 30 are permitted.

Transitional and open days

You should complete thorough risk assessments before running transitional, taster and open days in your setting, to ensure that they are run in line with your system of controls and align with the advice contained within the guidance for your setting and the roadmap out of lockdown.

This means that traditional transitional and open days are unlikely to be feasible this academic year but we are keen not to restrict individual settings from designing events which maintain the integrity of bubbles or consistent groups, and adhere to the system of controls in place.

Singing

If you are planning an indoor or outdoor face-to-face performance in front of a live audience, you should continue to follow the latest performing arts guidance, and the guidance on delivering outdoor events. Registered early years settings, schools and colleges are, however, exempt from the requirement to limit group numbers to 6 for singing indoors.

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.