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<p>During national lockdown restrictions, special schools and special post-16 settings
should continue to welcome and encourage pupils to attend full-time (or as per their
usual timetable) where parents and carers wishes for their child to be able to attend
(or for post-16s, where the young person wishes to attend). This is because we know
that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and
their families, can be disproportionately impacted by being out of education. The
Department for Education (DfE) has published new guidance on the period during the
national lockdown, which can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak#history"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak#history</a>.</p><p>It
is important that staff in these schools continue to be supported. The rapid asymptomatic
testing programme will include testing staff, vulnerable pupils and students, and
children of key workers, including those within special schools and special post-16
settings. Further announcements on the roll out of testing to staff in primary schools
will follow in due course, to help support the reopening of education settings.</p><p>As
outlined in the department’s published guidance, additional use of personal protective
equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 related purposes is only needed in a small number of
cases, such as if a pupil or student becomes ill with COVID-19 symptoms and a distance
of 2 metres cannot be maintained, or when undertaking aerosol generating procedures.
If a pupil or student already has routine intimate care needs that involve the use
of PPE, the same PPE should continue to be used. Public Health England have advised
that the current guidance on the system of controls, including the use of PPE and
face coverings, should continue to be followed.</p><p>The PPE portal can be used by
residential special settings to access COVID-19 PPE. These providers will have received
an email invitation to register with the portal. Depending on local arrangements,
special schools and special post-16 settings may be able to access PPE for their COVID-19
needs via their local authority or local resilience forum.</p><p>The Joint Committee
on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are independent experts advising the government
on which vaccine(s) the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered
them. JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination should be
the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems,
and as the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily
based on age. This prioritisation captures almost all preventable deaths from COVID-19.
In the next phase of the vaccine rollout, JCVI have asked that the Department of Health
and Social Care consider occupational vaccination in collaboration with other government
departments. The DfE will input into this cross-governmental exercise.</p><p> </p>
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