| answer text |
<p>The Department regularly reviews advice from Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies
(SAGE), Public Health England, the Office for National Statistics and other sources
to ensure our policies are guided by the most up to date scientific evidence. SAGE
have committed to publishing minutes and papers following meetings on a regular basis
and we will continue to work closely with them, keeping the guidance under review
as we continue to monitor the situation over the winter. The Department will adjust
and adapt our approach as necessary if more evidence becomes available.</p><p>The
Department collects daily data on the open status of schools, the number of schools
that have indicated they have sent children home due to COVID-19 containment, the
number of pupils absent because they have suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19,
and the number of pupils asked to isolate due to contact with a potential case.</p><p>The
data from this collection is published at a national level as part of the official
statistics series. The publication can be found here: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak"
target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak</a>.</p><p>Public
Health England also collects data on infection, incidence, and COVID-19 cases overall
and publishes weekly data on COVID-19 incidents by institution, including educational
settings. This can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936672/Weekly_COVID-19_and_Influenza_Surveillance_Graphs_w47.pdf"
target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936672/Weekly_COVID-19_and_Influenza_Surveillance_Graphs_w47.pdf</a>.
It shows COVID-19 clusters or outbreaks by educational setting, including colleges
and universities. Age-range data is also available from the Office for National Statistics
here: <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/20november2020"
target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/20november2020</a>.
This shows age-range positive test rates, including for academic school Year 12 to
age 24.</p><p><ins class="ministerial">The department intends to publish school workforce
attendance data from the new year. This data will be included as part of the publication
‘Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (Covid 19)
outbreak’.</ins></p><p>The Department is continuing to review what we publish in our
weekly dataset, alongside the quality of data we collect.</p>
|
|
