Covid-19 – Latest Guidance – 6.00pm 14th July 2020

James Williams

Main points from today

  • Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, has confirmed that it will be mandatory to wear a face covering in shops and supermarkets from 24th July.  A failure to comply could result in a £100 fine.

Latest Guidance (employment and business)
No new guidance today.

CJRS guidance can be found here:-
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme guidance is here:-
Check if you can claim a grant through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

Latest Guidance (health)
No new guidance today.

Schools
Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: 23 March to 9 July 2020
The summary from the DfE is as follows:-

  • We estimate that 16.9% of pupils (1,608,000) were attending schools and colleges in England on 9 July, the same as on 2 July and 25 June.
  • Approximately 91% of schools and colleges were open in some capacity on 9 July, down from 93% on 2 July. These figures include independent schools and further education (FE) colleges, many of which have now closed for the summer holidays. We estimate that over 93% of state-funded primary and secondary schools were open in some capacity on 9 July.
  • We estimate 87% of primary schools were open to nursery, reception, year 1 and/or year 6 on 9 July, slightly down from 88% on 2 July. These figures include independent schools and we estimate over 89% of state-funded primary schools were open to these year groups on 9 July.
  • Attendance was highest in year 6, with approximately 43% of all year 6 children in attendance on 9 July, slightly down from 44% on 2 July. Attendance was around 37% in year 1 and 39% in reception, slightly down from 2 July (38% and 40% respectively).
  • From 15 June, secondary schools, sixth form and further education colleges were asked to begin providing face-to-face support to students in year 10 and 12 to supplement their learning from home, alongside full time provision for students from priority groups. We estimate 73% of schools were open to at least one of these year groups on 9 July, excluding FE colleges and special post-16 institutions, down from 75% on 2 July. These figures include independent schools and we estimate over 80% of state-funded secondary schools were open to at least one of these year groups on 9 July.
  • Approximately 13% of year 10 students were in attendance on 9 July, slightly down from 14% on 2 July. Approximately 12% of year 12 students were in attendance on 9 July, excluding students in further education (FE) colleges and special post-16 institutions, the same as on 2 July. The Department’s guidance states that schools and colleges are able to have up to a quarter of their year 10 and year 12 cohort in attendance at any one time to reduce the risk of transmission.
  • Around 27% of children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or a social worker were attending an education setting on 9 July, up from 25% on 2 July.
  • Early years settings were also asked to begin welcoming back all children from 1 June. We estimate that on 9 July, 414,000 children were attending early years setting – about 25% of the number of children who usually attend in term time.

12:00pm, 14 July 2020

The collections are:-
Guidance for schools: coronavirus (COVID-19) – What school leaders, teachers and school staff need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Early years and childcare: coronavirus (COVID-19)
Further and higher education: coronavirus (COVID-19)
Early years and childcare: coronavirus (COVID-19)

General Guidance
The general coronavirus guidance starts here:-
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

James Williams – Solicitor

James Williams

I am a qualified Employment Law and HR Solicitor. I specialise in acting for schools and advise on all aspects of employment law and HR including attending employee meetings, advising senior leaders, conducting redundancy consultations, drafting contracts of employment, advising on policies and procedures and negotiating settlement agreements.