This page is regularly updated with Covid-19 guidance issued from the Department for Education.
DfE has tweaked the guidance on recovery funding to clarify the eligibility and funding rates for 2022-23.
See the coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery premium allocations and conditions of grant 2022 to 2023 for further information.
The COVID-19 workforce fund is available to provide financial support to cover the cost of workforce absences from 22nd November 2021-8th April 2022. The claim for is now open and available online, alongside guidance. The deadline for submitting a claim is 24th May.
On Tuesday 29 March 2022, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, set out the next steps for living with COVID-19 in England from Friday 1 April 2022.
On 1 April 2022, UKHSA published a suite of guidance documents which are also relevant to schools:
The DfE and UKHSA have also published further guidance on 1 April 2022 that is specific to schools:
On 2 March 2022, the Government published updated guidance on test kits for schools.
The UK Health Security Agency has published new guidance on people with Covid-19 and their contacts. (24 February 2022)
The schoolsguidance and special schools guidance have been updated to reflect this (24 February 2022).
New guidance on Living with Covid is available here.
The conditions of fundingfor the 12-15 vaccination payment to schools has been published (3 February 2022). This is a one-off payment to support schools in hosting vaccinations and ensuring that the COVID-19 vaccine is accessible to pupils.
The DfE has updated the Contingency framework: education and childcare settings. (January 2022)
Responsibility for exams – updated guidance (20 January 2022)
This guidance document includes guidance on health arrangements for exams and as a result has been updated to reflect the removal of the recommendation to wear face coverings in communal areas from 27 January. The update also has information about an extension to the existing ESS arrangements to allow centres to claim additional invigilator costs in cases of staff absence for exams and assessments not previously eligible.
This guidance has been updated so that the private candidate section now states that the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has published a list of schools, colleges and other exam centres that will accept private candidate entries for GCSEs, AS and A levels in summer 2022.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges that schools have faced, the DfE has extended this provision beyond April 2022 and expanded school eligibility. The guidance says the DfE will contact eligible schools this month.
Following the recent announcement that confirmatory PCRs would not be needed in most circumstances from 11 January, the DfE has updated its range of guidance to reflect this. Guidance for schools (5 January 2021)and special schools (7 January 2022) has been updated.
The DfE has updated Attendance Guidance(6 January 2022) in line with the UKHSA announcement about confirmatory PCR tests. The Addendum, recording attendance in relation to Covid-19 during the 2021 to 2022 academic year has been amended (6 January 2022).
The DfE has published an Evidence Summary: Covid-19 and the use of face coverings in education settings. The summary sets out the evidence informing the Government’s decision to revisit the guidance on the use of face coverings within secondary schools and colleges in England – temporarily extending their recommended use in communal areas to also include classrooms and teaching spaces for those in year 7 and above.
The DfE has updated its operational guidance for schools:
The guidance on completing the education settings status formhas also been updated (31 December 2021)
The COVID-19 workforce fund has been extended until February 18 February 2022. You can see the updated guidance here.
The DfE has announced (15 December2021) that over £10 million of funding will go to programmes identified by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to help disadvantaged pupils catch up, as part of the government’s Accelerator Fund. This funding will prioritise three regions that have experienced significant learning loss according to research commissioned by the department - the North of England, East Midlands & Humber, and West Midlands.
The Accelerator Fund aims to scale up and spread effective teaching practice to ensure pupils have the best chance of catching up following the pandemic. CST is working with EEF to ensure that trusts are have the opportunity to mobilise this project.
The Department for Education COVID-19 helpline and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Advice Service, (formally the Public Health England Advice Service) will be available over the Christmas holidays to answer any questions you have about COVID-19 relating to education and childcare settings and children’s social care.
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Opening hours:
24 December – 10am to 4pm
25 to 28 December – Closed
29 to 30 December – 8am to 6pm
31 December – 10am to 4pm
1 to 2 January – Closed
3 January – 10am to 4pm
Until 24 December, the helpline
opening hours are:
Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm
Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm
The DfE has amended the Schools Operational Guidance. The Contingency Framework has also been updated.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of ‘Plan B’ and the changes for schools, the DfE guidance has been updated accordingly. You can find the relevant guidance as follows:
School Attendance
The DfE has updated the ‘Addendum: recording attendance in relation to coronavirus (COVID-19) during the 2021 to 2022 academic year.‘ (7 December 2021) The section on ‘pupils who are a close contact of someone who has symptoms or confirmed COVID-19’ has been amended to reflect the arrangements for the Omicron variant.
The DfE has made small amendments to the Contingency Framework to reflect recent policy announcements:
Updated Schools Operational Guidance to reflect temporary national Covid-19 measures (29 November 2021)
The Schools Operational Guidance has been updated to reflect the new measures on contact tracing and isolation, travel and quarantine, face coverings and vaccination of under 18 year olds. Updated guidance is available on GOV.UK:
An updated youth stakeholder toolkit has been produced by the Cabinet Office, and contains information and resources to support communications with young people around COVID-19 vaccinations.
Please get in touch with cv19-externalaffairs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk if you have any questions or would like further information.
The DfE has amended the school-led tutoring guidance to reflect up to date policy on accountability, recovering overpayments, and delivery of training.
The DfE has made some minor amendments to the contingency framework (13 October 2021)
Following the government’s announcement that funding would be made available to support priority TAG appeals in summer 2021, this new guidance outlines more about the process for claiming.
The Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care have written a joint letter (11 October 2021) to parents about the vaccination of children aged 12 to 15 and the importance of continuing with twice-weekly COVID-19 testing and reporting.
Alongside the letter are some frequently answered questions for parents, from Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation
The DfE has confirmed the educational setting status form, through which schools report data on the impact of Covid-19, will continue to with daily reporting. This will be kept under review, with the DfE’s intention being to move to weekly reporting when they consider the national situation allows.
On Tuesday 14th September, the Cabinet Office published the COVID-19 Response – Autumn and Winter Plan 2021. This guidance set out plans for autumn and winter 2021/22 in England. The DfE has updated guidance documents to reflect the changes made to the government’s response to COVID-19.
Both the Schools Operational Guidance (27 September 2021) and the Operational Guidance for Special Schools and Specialist Settings (27 September 2021) have been amended.
The guidance on Covid-19 test kits for schools (27 September 2021) has also been updated.
National Testing Programme: conditions of grant from August 2021 (28 September 2021) has been published.
Public Health England has published the guidance (16 September 2021) on the Covid-19 vaccination programme for 12-15 year olds.
Two resources have been published for parents and young people: COVID-19 vaccination programme for young people: guidance for parents) and COVID-19 vaccination: resources for children and young people.
The government has announced (21 August 2021) it is funding a roll out of carbon dioxide monitors to education settings.
This guidance (26 July 2021) has been updated to reflect the Step 4 changes and what these mean for conducting exams, including the autumn series.
The DfE is working with the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership (VCSEP)to help support secondary schools in running ATS testing in September. VCSEP is a coalition of over 230 organisations across England and may be able to offer additional workforce support. Please give as much notice as possible to ensure the best chance of securing this resource in time for the autumn. Information on what this support consists of (volunteer staff) and how to access it is published in the ‘orange guide’ on the secondary schools and colleges document sharing platform (see page 18). This invites schools to email the VCSEP help@vcsep.org.uk with the subject line ‘Support Request – Rapid Testing Resource [insert school name].’
Where specialist settings do not have the capacity to deliver assisted swabbing, further support may be available from Medacs Healthcare.
As colleagues will be aware, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised (4 August 2021) that all 16 to 17 year olds should be offered a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the government has issued a statement (4 August 2021) accepting this advice.
From 19 July, England moved to Step 4 of the roadmap. The Prime Minister has emphasised the need to remain cautious as restrictions are lifted.
Further information on Step 4 and the changes to COVID-19 measures in education and childcare settings can be found in the DfE’sguidance.
The DfE has updated guidance to reflect Step 4 of the roadmap and have converted the following pieces of guidance from PDF to HTML format.
From 19 July, schools no longer need to carry out routine contact tracing. From this point onwards, close contacts will be identified and contacted by NHS Test and Trace. In response to feedback from stakeholders, the DfE has produced guidance, some frequently asked questions and answers, and a template letter for settings to send to parents and pupils on changes to contact tracing of close contacts. These can all be found on the document sharing platforms for primary and early years, secondary schools, further education and higher education and children's social care.
The DfE has published updated guidance (14 July 2021) on face coverings in schools and colleges. In line with the latest health advice and wider government position, pupils are expected to continue to wear face coverings on public transport(14 July 2021) to and from school or college. This includes dedicated home to school transport (14 July 2021), where pupils are more likely to mix with pupils in different age groups, and where there is no impact on their education. This update on face coverings is also reflected in the special schools guidance (14 July 2021).
The statutory guidance ‘Careers guidance and access for education and training providers’ has been updated (15 July 2021).
On 9 July 2021, the DfE announced £10 million for programmes targeted at pupils starting primary and secondary school, who will take part in focused English and maths catch-up sessions. Specialist training and materials will be provided to support focused sessions, and schools with high proportions of children from disadvantaged backgrounds will be prioritised for the schemes to support those most impacted by the disruption to education. Further information is available in DfE’s press release.
The DfE has also launched an information site for parents, featuring advice and support on catch-up programmes and fun activities for all children and young people in England. The site also caters to parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities and covers mental health and early years as well as catch-up for 4-16- and 16-19-year-olds.
The DfE has published an evidence summary (July 2021) about children, young people and education settings.
The DfE has asked us to draw your attention to studies the Department of Health and Social Carepublished on 7 July 2021
The DfE has published new guidance ahead of Step 4, covering both the summer period and the following term, when children will return to school:
The government has updated the contingency framework(18 June 2021) following the announcement on enhanced response packages to tackle the Delta variant (15 June 2021) in some areas. The contingency framework describes the principles of managing local outbreaks of COVID-19 in education.
The summer schools guidance (16 June 2021) has been updated to include new wording on specific conditions for new schools.
The Government has updated guidance on the use of the NHS Covid-19 app for schools and childcare settings. The guidance has been amended to include app features and situations for pausing the app.
Summary of programmes and activities the DfE is funding
The DfE has published a summary (June 2021) of the programmes and activities the DfE is funding to support education recovery and children and young people’s wellbeing.
The DfE has announced that regulations have been laid which remove the requirement to report on national curriculum assessments for summer 2021 and attendance for the academic year 2020/21. The updated guidance also contains general information on what reports should include, and a table illustrating the requirements.
The guidance on summer schools has been updated (10 June 2021) to include the link to the form for schools to confirm their arrangements. This form needs to completed by 30
The Post-16 Capacity Fund 2021-22 was announced on 18th May 2021
The Contingency Framework for Education and Childcare (13 May 2021) sets out the principles to apply or ease measures necessary to contain the virus in local areas.
There is further guidance (17 May 2021) available for anyone living in one of the areas affected by the new variant.
Following the changes made under Step 3 of the roadmap, the guidance (12 May 2021) on exams from January 2021 has been updated in relation to face coverings.
The guidance on Responsibility for Exams (12 May 2021) has been updated to include reference to the above.
The guidance (13 May 2021) on the contingency framework has been updated in relation to testing and face coverings.
The guidance on face coverings in education (May 2021) has been amended to reflect that from 17th May face coverings will no longer be recommended for pupils and students in classrooms or communal areas, in all schools and colleges. Face coverings will also no longer be recommended for staff in classrooms. In all schools and colleges, the Government continues to recommend that face coverings should be worn by staff and visitors in situations outside of classrooms where social distancing is not possible.
Schools Covid-19 Operational Guidance (May 2021)has also been amended to reflect the above.
The following guidance documents have also been updated:
· Protective measures for out-of-school settings during the COVID 19 pandemic (May 2021)
· SEND and specialist settings - additional operational guidance (10 May 2021)
· Actions for early years and childcare providers (May 2021)
· Guidance for parents on out-of-school settings during COVID-19 (May 2021)
From Monday 10th May, NHS Test and Trace are introducing a new type of LFD test called Orient Gene. These are for use at ATS in schools and colleges. These tests involve double nasal swab samples only – a throat sample is not needed. The Orient Gene devices return a positive or negative result in under 30 minutes.
The DfE will be updating the guidance on the schools and colleges document sharing platformshortly with further detail on the change. A one-page summary of the key differences between the (current use) Innova and the new Orient Gene LFD tests can be seen here.
The reordering window is now open for deliveries during week commencing Monday 17 May. All deliveries for ATS test kits will be of Orient Gene test kits instead of Innova. To reorder ATS test kits please use the asymptomatic testing for COVID-19 in maintained nurseries, schools and colleges delivery and supply form.
The DfE has updated the guidance (7 May 2021) on 'Rapid asymptomatic testing in specialist settings' to reflect the introduction of nasal swab only tests at asymptomatic testing sites.
The DfE has updated the catch-up premium: coronavirus (Covid-19) guidance(27 April 2021) to provide information on carrying funding forward beyond this academic year, accountability arrangements including what schools in trusts need to publish onlineand plans for Ofsted monitoring during the summer term.
The DfE has published a new sign-up form for secondary schools in England to declare their intention to host a summer school. They have also published guidance on how to complete this form (26 April 2021)
Funding allocations (26 April 2021) for summer schools were published last week, and the DfE is now encouraging as many schools as possible to take the following actions:
The DfE has amended guidance(20 April 2021) on ITT. A section has been added on funded course extensions for 2020 to 2021 trainees and information on how trainees should be recommended for early years teacher status. Information has also been added on the immigration permission for trainees from the European Economic Area and Switzerland and using the get school experience service.
The DfE has published a new Governance Update (20 April 2021).
The DfE has amended operational guidance (6 April 2021) for schools.
The government has announced its review into face coverings in schools (6 April 2021)
Accordingly, the guidance on face coverings has been updated.
The DfE has updated guidance on asymptomatic testing (30 March 2021) to reflect the DHSC announcement that a confirmatory PCR test is required following a positive LFD test result in England.
The DfE has updated guidance on transport to school and other places of education: 2020 to 2021 academic year (31 March 2021) to include additional information about how close contacts may be identified on transport and the availability of twice weekly testing for drivers and passenger assistants on home to school transport.
The DfE has published new guidance for secondary schools (30 March 2021) to help progress plans for summer schools once you return from the Easter break, using the £200 million funding announced in February.
Guidance for secondary schools is available here.
The DfE has published an update of the operational guidance for schools.
The Operational guidance for special schools and specialist settings has also been amended along similar lines.
There is updated guidance (26 March 2021) on CEV children. .
There is updated guidance (26 March 2021) on CEV staff.
The guidance (26 March 2021) has been updated.
The DfE has updated its guidance on remote education good practice (24 March 2021) to include sections on physical education, remote teaching for very young pupils and supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. A new section has also been added on safeguarding and online safety.
The DfE has amended and collated guidance (16 March 2021) providing information for parents and carers of children attending early years settings, schools and colleges during the pandemic.
The government has announced (18 March 2021) that from Thursday April 1st, clinically extremely vulnerable people are no longer advised to shield.
In addition to resources published on the PHE coronavirus resource hub to support rapid testing in schools and colleges, parents and other adults in households with children or staff at school, nursery or college, who do not have symptoms, can now also access regular, rapid Covid-19 testing. This includes childcare and support bubbles.
There are different ways (16 March 2021) for a household, childcare or support bubble to access twice-weekly, regular testing at home.
There is more information on how households can collect or order tests here.
The DfE has also published FAQs here (March 2021)
The DfE has also updated guidance (11 March 2021) on transport to school and other places of education to include additional information on identifying close contacts if someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 travelled on dedicated transport.
The online form to claim for the Covid-19 workforce fund is now live. This fund aims to support state-funded schools and colleges experiencing high staff absence rates and significant funding pressures.
DfE has published guidance (10 March 2021)to help you complete the form. Eligible costs relate to staff absences during the period 1st November 2020 to 31stDecember 2020.
Further information, including details of the eligibility criteria and the financial support available, can be found in the guidance for:
This guidance (11 March 2021) has been updated to reflect minor amendments to the definition of a close contact and added information about reasonable adjustments to face coverings.
The DfE has updated the guidance on safeguarding and remote education, which you can find with this link (10 March 2021). The update includes additional information, support and resources to help keep children and young people safe online, including harmful online risks, and advice on live streaming lessons.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has updated its guidance on how to dispose of waste during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic(5 March 2021) including face coverings, personal protective equipment (PPE) and waste from lateral flow device (LFD) test kits.
Under your waste management duty of care you must ensure that all waste produced onsite, including from the LFD test kits, is handled appropriately by a licenced waste management company.
A reminder that the DfE has created a bespoke page (5 March 2021) on gov.uk which lists all current guidance.
New guidance for residential settings, Boarding school students from red list countries: quarantine arrangements (March 2021) has been added to the page. The DfE has also added the guidance on 'Awarding qualifications in summer 2021' (published on 25th February) to the gov.uk page.
Schools that have not yet ordered the full allocation of laptops will still be able to place orders once pupils return on 8th March. You can do this by signing in to DfE’s get help with technology service.
If you experience disruption due to Covid-19 after 8th March, you will still be able to request internet access for disadvantaged pupils..
DfE has updated the Early Years Foundation State Covid-19 disapplications. (15 January 2021)
This guidance page (14 January 2021) has been updated with the addition of a new guidance (January 2021) document.
This guidance (14 January 2021) has been updated to clarify that wraparound provision should continue to be made available during the national lockdown for children attending school. Schools may continue to open up their premises for use by external providers that support children of critical workers and vulnerable children.
The ‘Restricting attendance during the national lockdown: schools’ (14 January 2021) guidance has been updated to make it clear that supply teachers and other temporary staff can deliver remote education, as well as face-to-face education.
DfE has published a non-statutory framework (12 January 2021) to help schools and trusts review remote education provision. It is important that the framework is not intended as a compliance or accountability tool. There is no requirement at all to use the framework.
DfE have published an optional template (11 January 2021) which schools and trusts can use when publishing information about their remote education provision on their websites during the spring term.
The first is a paper prepared by the Children’s Task and Finish Group (TFC) for SAGE. The paper considers the role children in transmission of COVID-19 and assesses the evidence.
The second paper, prepared by the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) and DfE consider the evidence on the benefits of remaining in education.
DfE released a briefing to accompany these papers.
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