Updated guidance for education settings on coronavirus (COVID-19)

Today, the Department for Education and Public Health England have issued updated guidance for education settings on COVID-19. 

Current advice remains in place: no education or children’s social care setting should close in response to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England.

What you need to know:

• staff, young people and children should stay at home if they are unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature to avoid spreading infection to others. Otherwise they should attend education or work as normal
• if staff, young people or children become unwell on site with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature they will be be sent home
• clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and surfaces more often than usual using your standard cleaning products
• ensure you wash your hands for 20 seconds, more often than usual, with soap and water or hand sanitiser and catch coughs and sneezes in tissues

A short video on hand washing can be found here

The updated guidance can be found in full here

The Chief Medical Officer has advised that the impact of closing schools on both children’s education and on the workforce would be substantial, but the benefit to public health may not be. Decisions on future advice to education or children’s social care settings will be taken based on the latest and best scientific evidence, which at this stage suggests children are a lower risk group.