This is your daily email to keep you updated on the government’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Educational setting status form
Please accept our apologies for any problems you may have experienced on Friday 1 May when accessing the DfE Sign-in to submit your status and attendance data. We have resolved these issues and the service is now available again.
Please continue to provide information on your educational setting’s status during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. If you were unable to submit your attendance data figures on Friday, please submit only today’s figures in your return.
The online educational setting status form is available here:
Updated guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings
The guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings has been updated with additional information on the Friday 8 May Bank Holiday, a link to the updated admissions appeals guidance and updates to the support and educational resources available to parents to help them educate their children at home.
The guidance can be found here:
Private candidates entered for GCSEs, AS and A levels
Ofqual has published an update to its guidance on private candidates entered for GCSEs, AS and A levels this summer.
The guidance can be found here:
The Joint Council for Qualifications has published supplementary information which is available here:
Schools, colleges and other exam centres that have accepted entries from private candidates for exams this summer should contact those candidates as soon as possible to let them know whether they will be able to provide centre assessment grades for them and include them in their centre’s rank order. Centres should seek advice from the exam board on more complex cases.
Government support package for universities and students
The Government has today announced a range of measures to protect students and the higher education sector from the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19). The stabilisation and support measures include temporary student number controls and £100m of public funding being brought forward to this academic year to help protect university research activities. In addition, an estimated £2.6bn of tuition fee payments will be bought forward to help universities better manage financial risks over the autumn.
This announcement can be found here:
Updated guidance on the induction of newly qualified teachers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
We have updated the guidance on the induction of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We recognise that the current situation will impact on the number of days NQTs may be absent this academic year. Absences related to coronavirus (COVID-19) will not count towards the 30 day absence limit or trigger an automatic extension of the induction.
The guidance can be found here:
The information below has not changed since yesterday.
Department for Education coronavirus helpline
The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Opening hours:
8am to 6pm – Monday to Friday
10am to 4pm – Saturday and SundayIf you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the hotline.
Handwashing advice
It is essential that everyone washes their hands more often, using soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Hand washing with soap employs mechanical action that loosens bacteria and viruses from the skin, rinsing them into the drain. Drying hands afterwards makes the skin less hospitable to the virus. Hand sanitiser can be effective if soap is not available or the situation makes using soap less feasible (i.e. when outside) but using hand sanitiser provides none of the virus-destroying friction that rubbing your hands together and rinsing with water provides.
The latest guidance and video on hand washing can be found at:
The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene.
Resources are currently available for KS1, KS2 and KS3 and can be used in various settings including schools and at home:
Collection of guidance for educational settings on GOV.UK
All of the Department for Education’s coronavirus guidance for educational settings can now be found in one place on GOV.UK at:
Our main schools guidance, the ‘actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak’ will be regularly kept up to date. Any new advice for schools on specific issues, such as food, exams or safeguarding, will be linked from:
The school office is open 8.30am to 4pm Mon to Fri, Term Time Only, Tel 01458 272587