Most of the guidance for Education settings hasn’t changed and the new measures that are being introduced are temporary and precautionary due to the Omicron variant of the virus and will be reviewed in three weeks.
*Face coverings*
From tomorrow (Monday 29 November), we are strongly advising that face coverings should be worn in communal areas in all settings by staff, visitors and pupils or students in year 7 and above, unless they are exempt. Pupils or students (in year 7 or above) should continue to wear face coverings on public and dedicated school transport, unless they are exempt.
*Testing*
All educational and childcare settings should continue to encourage staff and students to twice weekly using lateral flow device (LFD) tests.
*Contact tracing and isolation*
The current guidance on contact tracing and isolation remains in place - which means that close contacts should take PCR tests but do not need to isolate unless they are over 18 and unvaccinated. The exception is for close contacts of suspected or confirmed Omicron cases, who will be asked to isolate for 10 days.
You can find more information here -> What the new temporary COVID-19 measures mean for early year settings, out-of-school settings, schools, colleges and universities - The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)
