Changes to Schools Covid-19 operational guidance Following the PM’s announcement that the Plan B restrictions will be lifted from 20 and 27 January 2022, the DfE have updated the Schools Covid-19 operational guidance. These are the changes include: Update to tracing close contacts and isolation section to clarify the advice for under 5s. Update to face coverings section to reflect removal of recommendation to wear face coverings in classrooms and communal areas. Update to mandatory certification section to reflect that this will no longer be in place from 27 January update to workforce section to reflect that government is no longer advising people to work from home if they can. Update to workforce section to reflect that government is no longer advising people to work from home if they can. – Read More…

The PM has announced the Plan B restrictions will be lifted from 20 and 27 January 2022.  The full statement is here – PM statement to the House of Commons on COVID-19: 19 January 2022 In the statement the PM also said ‘The self-isolation regulations expire on 24th March, at which point I very much expect not to renew them.’ The government has announced that the measures put in place under Plan B in England will be lifted.  Coronavirus: how to stay safe and help prevent the spread This means: The government is no longer asking people to work from home if they can. People should now talk to their employers to agree arrangements to return to the office. From 20 January: Face coverings will no longer be advised for – Read More…

Overview New Stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection has now been published (17 January 2022 00.16!!) Updated guidance for pregnant employees Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for pregnant employees Friday 14th January, 17.32. Self-isolation for those with COVID-19 can end after 5 full days following 2 consecutive negative LFD tests Stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection has now been published (17 January 2022 00.16!!). One question we have been asked is:- Can an employee that is currently self-isolating make use of the rule change to reduce their self-isolation period to 5 days? Yes, is the simple answer. The guidance above states:- 1. What has changed The self-isolation advice for people with coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed. It is now possible – Read More…

From today new regulations come into effect to re-introduce the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme for employers with fewer than 250 employees (more details below). Self-isolation for those with COVID-19 can end after 5 full days following 2 consecutive negative LFD tests (more details below). New regulations to re-introduce the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme The government has made regulations to re-introduce the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme across the United Kingdom, allowing employers with fewer than 250 employees to recover up to two weeks’ Statutory Sick Pay (£192.70) for each employee who is off work due to COVID-19 including those in self-isolation, on or after 21 December 2021 including where the period of incapacity started before that date. Claims must be made by 24 March 2022. The Statutory Sick – Read More…

From 10 December 2021 temporary changes were introduced to allow employees to self-certify sickness absence for 28 days rather than 7 days. In practice this means that employees cannot be required to provide a fit note until they have been absent for 28 days.  This is due to be reviewed on 26 January 2022 and could be extended.  More details below. From 11 January in England, people who receive positive lateral flow device (LFD) test results for coronavirus will be required to self-isolate immediately but will not be required to take a confirmatory PCR test. More details below. From 4am on 7 January you do not have to quarantine on arrival in England if you qualify as fully vaccinated for travel to England. Travel to England from another country during – Read More…

PM news conference today at 5pm. The UK has recorded a further 218,724 coronavirus infections – a new daily record. Two million vaccine appointments available over next week – NHS England The health service says there is “plenty of capacity” for those who have not been able to come forward so far. Anyone who has had COVID must wait 28 days before having a booster. The PM said the country is in a different position to previous waves due to the vaccination programme and that the UK now has “a substantial level of protection”. He added that with the Plan B measures set to continue “we have a chance to ride out this Omicron wave without shutting down this country once again”. Chris Whitty said that last week 1 in – Read More…

Following the DfE update to the Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak guidance (11:01am, 14 December 2021) we have considered the implications of 7 day testing and put together the following FAQ’s:- Can an employer compel an employee to take daily LFD tests? If an employee has been notified that they are a contact of someone with COVID-19, we consider that it is likely to be reasonable to require that employee to take a COVID-19 test, where the purpose is to protect the health and safety of the workforce. In the light of the updated guidance, where the employee is identified as a contact of a COVID-19 case, we also consider that it is likely to be reasonable to require the employee to take daily LFD tests in accordance with – Read More…

The DfE have updated the Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak guidance (11:01am, 14 December 2021) to reflect that daily rapid testing is now recommended for all contacts of COVID-19. The guidance recommends that from today close contacts of any confirmed case that are contacted by NHS Test and Trace are strongly advised to take a LFD test every day for 7 days and continue to attend their setting as normal, unless they have a positive test result. This applies to all adults who are fully vaccinated and all children and young people aged between 5 and 18 years and 6 months. The testing guidance applies to all close contacts of a positive case of Covid-19, whether it is the Omicron variant or not. As before, any staff who – Read More…

On 10 December we hosted a webinar and were joined by Helen Lumb and Arati Patel-Mistry from the DfE Engagement Team.  If any school or college has a question about the RPA please contact Helen.Lumb@education.gov.uk or Arati.Patel-Mistry@education.gov.uk and they will be happy to assist. A link to the slides from the webinar is here:- RPA Slidepack- Autumn Term 2021 There is also a very useful comparison document to help schools who are considering the RPA, compare their existing insurance:- RPA Comparison Document What is the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA)? The RPA is not an insurance scheme but is a mechanism through which the cost of risks will be covered by government funds. It is a voluntary arrangement that was launched in September 2014 for all academies, however, as a result – Read More…

In the news conference at 6pm on 8 December 2021, the PM announced that there would be a move to the ‘Plan B restrictions’ in England to slow the spread of the Omicron strain of Covid-19. There are 568 confirmed Omicron cases in the UK but the true number is much higher. The doubling time for the Omicron variant is 2 to 3 days. The Plan B restrictions are as follows:- The re-introduction of working from home if possible from Monday 13th December. Face masks to be mandatory in most indoor venues from Friday 10th December.  These include theatres and cinemas, although they will not be required when it is not practical – such as when people are eating, drinking, exercising or singing. The NHS COVID pass will also be – Read More…