> Attendance expectations

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Attendance is mandatory. The usual rules on attendance continue to apply, including:

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• parents’ duty to ensure that their child of compulsory school age attends regularly at the school where the child is a registered pupil

• schools’ responsibilities to record attendance and follow up absence

• the ability to issue sanctions, including fixed penalty notices, in line with local authorities’ codes of conduct

•  the duty on local authorities to put in place arrangements for identifying, and to follow up with, children missing education

 

> Changes to measures and guidance for managing COVID-19 in education and childcare settings from Friday 1 April

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On Tuesday 29 March, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, set out the next steps for living with COVID-19 in England from Friday 1 April.

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Free COVID-19 tests will continue to be available for specific groups, including eligible patients and NHS staff, once the universal testing offer ends on Friday 1 April.

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Updated guidance will advise:

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• adults with the symptoms of a respiratory infection, and who have a high temperature or feel unwell, should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people until they feel well enough to resume normal activities and they no longer have a high temperature

• children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people. They can go back to school, college or childcare when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend

• adults with a positive COVID-19 test result should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 5 days, which is when they are most infectious. For children and young people aged 18 and under, the advice will be 3 days

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