Coronavirus & education

In March 2021 we got back to full opening for all schools, colleges and early years settings, including special schools and alternative provision. All children are expected to be back in early years settings, schools and colleges from now on unless the pandemic takes an unexpected turn.

All types of school and educational settings have had to work out how to organise teaching, the curriculum, classrooms and the school day to offer the best education they can but whilst managing any risk of transmission of coronavirus. The government’s guidance about how they should do this has been updated again ready for the start of the autumn term 2021 and is set out for each type of education setting:

• Mainstream schools
• Special schools
• Early years
• Further education colleges

In this section we try to cover the questions and issues you will have about all this and where to get further support or advice if you need this. The government’s overall guide for parents is also worth a look.

Schools and parents all want to continue to keep everyone as safe as possible, including pupils and staff. All education settings have had guidance about what they should do to limit the spread of coronavirus and keep children and teachers safe. From September 2021 education settings are being encouraged to operate as normally as possible but step up some measures on public health advice to respond to local conditions such as an increasing number of cases in a school.

From 20 January 2022 face masks are no longer compulsory for secondary school or college pupils, staff and visitors in classrooms, corridors or communal areas, unless they are exempt. But schools and colleges can ask they are worm in response to local circumstances such as an outbreak in school. They are recommended but not compulsory for children and young people from Year 7 and above on public transport and school transport.

The guidance for schools about how to work safely during Covid  includes information about how to deal with aerosol generating procedures in school.

Secondary schools, FE colleges, special schools and alternative provision have access to coronavirus tests to use for staff and pupils of secondary age and above. Tests are usually to be carried out at home not in school or college. There is specific guidance for special schools and some of the advice in this guide may also be useful for children with SEND in mainstream schools. Testing is also covered in the government’s guide for parents.

These are tests for people who don’t have coronavirus symptoms (asymptomatic). They are called rapid or lateral flow device tests (LFTs). If your child has symptoms you should book one of the more reliable PCR tests through the NHS online system and keep them off school. LFTs are to try to pick up people who have coronavirus but aren’t aware of this. Up to one-third of people who have coronavirus are asymptomatic. The aim is to do twice weekly tests. Testing is voluntary and cannot take place without consent from parents and the child or young person. The guidance is clear that no child should be excluded from coming to school because of being unable or unwilling to take part in this testing programme.  Testing is to help everyone be safer but some children will find it difficult or impossible. Talk to your child’s school if you know your child will struggle with the tests and refer to the need for “reasonable adjustments” for people who are disabled if you feel they are not being flexible in response to your child’s individual needs. You can also get LFT kits to use at home for other members of the household.

If your child has symptoms they should book a PCR test. They must stay at home whilst waiting for the result of the PCR test. If they have a positive result on an LFT they should self-isolate but it is no longer required to confirm the result with a PCR if they do not have symptoms. For more about PCR and LFT testing see out Health and Wellbeing section.

School transport continues with the changes made to reduce the risk of coronavirus, for example, more cleaning of vehicles or seating pupils differently (more on transport below). After school activities and clubs can restart.

If your child was considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) you will have shielded them at home during the first lockdown last year. The advice about which children are clinically extremely vulnerable changed in summer 2020 and again in August 2021. No groups of children are now considered to be CEV although a very small number of children will have specific individual advice from their specialist about minimising social contact. All other children and young people are expected to attend their school, college or early years setting now. See our Covid-19 Health and wellbeing page for more about shielding and children and young people who are clinically extremely vulnerable and vaccination for some 5 to 11 year olds who are most vulnerable.

Some children who do not need to stay away from school for their own safety have faced a barrier because they need care that involves aerosol generating procedures but there is  guidance about how schools can accommodate this safely and avoid excluding a child for this reason.

Children and young people who live in a household with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable can continue to go to school.

Home to school transport must follow guidance to minimise risk of transmission of the virus. Both East Sussex and Brighton & Hove transport teams have worked to ensure that their arrangements are safe and comply with the guidance.

The law on school transport has not changed and so your child’s eligibility for transport is the same as in any other year.  Some families  agreed to a personal travel budget or mileage allowance instead of a seat on dedicated transport. This is a temporary measure to help make best use of the transport there is when measures like additional distancing are needed. It may be a positive if you are concerned about safety in the short term. It will not affect your child’s eligibility for dedicated transport in the future. You shouldn’t be asked to commit to accepting a personal payment or mileage allowance for a specified period of time, but the local authority would need reasonable notice to reinstate home to school transport for your child when you decide to stop.

For children who travel to and from school on dedicated school transport, there are control measures to reduce the risk of transmission of infection. These are not identical to those on public transport because they are usually travelling with the same group of young people on a regular basis and not with members of the public. But the measures should include a combination of stable groups or ‘bubbles’, social distancing, keeping windows open, use of masks for over 11s if they are able to tolerate these, hand washing before and after the journey and extra cleaning of the vehicle.

Brighton & Hove produced a letter for parents and a simple social story to help your child be ready for the new arrangements. You may want to look at this story with them again as they return to school in September.

The normal rules and duties around attendance apply now. This means sanctions such as fines can be used, unless your child is self-isolating on health advice. This is a worry for parents whose children have found it easier to be at home than at school, who have high levels of anxiety at the best of times or find change difficult. As with the return to school last September, schools are being asked to approach this sensitively and support the children who will find it hard to return to school. They have been told to consider the mental wellbeing of all their pupils and offered extra guidance about supporting mental health. This can include using some of the catch-up funding they are getting from the government to offer extra support to these children.

If getting your child back to school is difficult, speak to their school and plan how to work together. You can also ask SENDIASS for advice if this is not working well.

The normal powers for schools to use fixed term and permanent exclusions have not changed during the period of coronavirus. This means schools still have the legal power to exclude. Of course the usual rules around exclusions still apply so schools must have a lawful reason to exclude and any formal exclusion must be non-discriminatory, reasonable, fair and proportionate.

The government have amended the arrangements for governing board and independent review panel meetings in relation to exclusions during the period of the coronavirus pandemic. The guidance was updated again in March 2021. For exclusions from 25 September 2020 until September 2021 the normal timescales apply, other than the time limit to apply for an independent review when a governing body has decided not to reinstate a permanently excluded child. This is extended to 25 days . The guidance also sets out that meetings of governing boards or independent review panels can be held via remote access (e.g. a video call) if necessary and if certain conditions are met (check guidance for details).

The guidance for schools about reopening fully back in March noted the impact that coronavirus and a second lockdown  had on children and young people, such that extra support will be needed around mental and emotional well being. It also notes a risk of more poor behaviour because children have not had the routine of school.  Last September schools wrote temporary changes into their behaviour policy to set out the new rules needed to keep the school Covid-safe and what will happen if pupils break those rules. These will apply again now. It is important to remember that pupils can only be excluded for disciplinary reasons: they cannot be excluded because a school cannot meet their needs or as the result of a Covid-19 risk assessment.

Any amendments to a school’s behaviour policy, made in light of Covid-19, must fit with the setting’s duties under the Equality Act 2010 and not discriminate against children who are disabled. Exclusion should only ever be a last resort for children with SEND.  Again our local authorities (East Sussex and Brighton & Hove) are asking schools to take a supportive approach and services like BHISS and ESBAS are offering schools help and advice to do so. The SENDIASS helpline can give advice if your child is excluded formally or informally.

There are some additional support services offered due to the impact of Covid-19.

East Sussex: The ISEND helpline for parent carers of children with SEND run by educational psychologists reopened on 18 January in response to the new lockdown. Any parent of a child or young person with SEND can call the ISEND telephone number 01273 481967 at any time and leave a message saying that you would like to talk to an EP. Your child does not need to have an EHCP. You can also turn to your school and to ISEND services currently working with your child.

There is an ESCC contact point for all queries relating to Children’s Services and provision in the current difficult situation. Email cs.customerrelations@eastsussex.gov.uk or call 0345 60 80 192 (10am-3pm). If you haven’t been able to resolve the problem about your child’s SEND provision, contact this number as they can direct your issue to the right service.

Families with health concerns over how safe it is for their child to attend school, can call the CITES Therapy One Point (TOP) for advice and support on 0300 123 2652.

The School Health team (school nurses) offer a ChatHealth confidential texting service for young people aged 11-19. Young people can text about any concerns or health issues on 07507 332473.  Or contact 0300 123 4062, email kentchft.esschoolhealthservice@nhs.net or use their online referral form.

Brighton and Hove: Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS) are running an open email for parent carers; if you are concerned about your child’s development and emotional wellbeing, please email your enquiry to BHISS@Brighton-hove.gov.uk. They also have a central phone number linked to a duty Educational Psychologist 01273 293481

Schools Wellbeing Service have a consultation line for parent carers who may be concerned about emotional wellbeing and mental health issues. If you would like to speak to a BHISS mental health worker, then please email your enquiry to SWSConsultationLine@brighton-hove.gov.uk

School nurses can offer confidential advice and support on a wide range of issues (including health issues) about the return to school. You can text them on 07480 635423. Young people aged 11 to 19 can also use this number to use the ChatHealth service about any concerns or health issues.

You can always contact the Amaze SENDIASS helpline for additional support and to hear about online drop ins and groups. You can seek peer support from other parents/carers on the Amaze Facebook Group or other local parent-led SEND groups in your area.

Brighton & Hove parent carer support groups include mASCot and Brighton Pebbles.

East Sussex parent carer support groups include iContact, Impact and Embrace.

See below for national links including the new support service for Black, Asian and minority ethnic children, young people and their families affected by Covid-19. And see our section on health and wellbeing.

The government announced an extension to their ‘catch-up’ programme for children in England who have missed out on school during lockdown. In the school year 2020/21 this includes £350m for one-on-one or small group tutoring for some of the most disadvantaged pupils at state schools in England and another £650m shared among primary and secondary schools to tackle the impact of Covid-19 for all pupils. A second round of funding has been promised for the academic year 2021/22. It is up to head teachers how this is spent. None of it is specifically set aside for children with SEND, although helping this group of children make up for what they have missed is one of the recommended uses for the money. Extra funding has also been provided to sixth forms and FE colleges through the 16 to 19 tuition fund to support small group tuition for 16 -19 year old students where learning has been disrupted.

Schools will be juggling many priorities around how they use this funding and when you work out how much it is per school, it is clear it won’t be enough for everything they want to do. You should feel able to say clearly what you think your child needs, but be realistic in your expectations.

Now all children are expected to be back in school most remote learning will stop. But schools must offer remote learning promptly to children who are off school, for example for a period of self-isolation because they have a positive test. Of course schools have had more experience now in offering remote learning and there are more online resources for them to draw on.

This remote learning should take into account your child’s SEND needs. If  the learning your child is offered does not work for them, speak to their class teacher or tutor first and then the SENCO if necessary. If they are on SEN Support this is matter for negotiation, but you can remind them that the law about using their “best endeavours” to meet a child’s needs still applies. If your child has an EHCP they are now entitled to receive the provision in their plan, even if this is in a different way to usual. Realistically, schools will face challenges in achieving this, but if you do not feel they are doing enough and talking to the SENCO does not resolve things, you should contact your CWO or APO. You can also ask SENDIASS for advice.

Brighton & Hove educational psychologists, specialist teaching staff and schools mental health workers at BHISS, (the Inclusion Support Service) are continuing to advise and support schools and their pupils with SEND or emotional and mental health issues. Some services are being provided remotely, by telephone or other platforms such as Skype and Zoom but they are now allowed to go into schools to see staff and pupils. For full details of how this is working and how to contact them, read the SEN interim arrangements information on the council’s website.

East Sussex ISEND services such as educational psychology, ESBAS and CLASS are working in different ways but as close as possible to business as usual including making visits to schools in a Covid-safe way. They are offering guidance to schools and if your child was already being supported by an ISEND service you can contact them direct. The ISEND  helpline for parent carers of children with SEND run by educational psychologists relaunched on 18 January 2021. You can find lots of information on the Local Offer 

The government had hoped that exams would go ahead in the summer of 2021, with some adjustments to take account of the way education has been disrupted this year.  But as we  had another long period of national lockdown, the summer exams were mostly been cancelled. Like last year, there was a process for young people to be given grades but this time based on teacher assessment.  You can read details of how this was meant to work or look at a quick guide for GCSEs and A Levels. The position for vocational and technical qualifications is different. Ones that work much like GCSE’s and AS levels were assessed in a similar way to these. For those that are used to enter directly into employment, the exams or assessments went ahead if they are needed to demonstrate competence as long as this can be done safely (in line with public health measures). If this is not possible they were delayed. Assessment for others like Functional Skills went ahead in ways that are safe or with alternative arrangements.

If any of this leaves you or your young person uncertain what to do next after school and college, Amaze’s Amazing Futures Careers Support team may be able to help you think about this.  For more information about planning ahead around education, employment and training for young people with SEND see our section on Young People and Coronavirus.

EHC needs assessments have continued despite coronavirus. Between April and September 2020 there were temporary regulations to relax the timescales that apply to EHC plan processes, but now all the normal time limits are back in force and both East Sussex and Brighton & Hove are working to these as closely as possible.

If a different school is named in an EHC plan during the coronavirus period, that school must still admit your child by adding them to the school roll. They should then consider them in the same way as existing pupils. As they don’t know your child and school arrangements are unusual due to coronavirus safety measures, you and the school may agree a phased start. In some cases you may have agreed to this school or college without being able to visit beforehand. You will need to give a bit of time to see how it is working out, but if after this you really feel it is the wrong placement for your child, contact your CWO/APO in the SEN team. You can ask SENDIASS for advice too.

Brighton & Hove

The SEN Team at Brighton and Hove City Council are working from home and prioritising essential work including completing EHC needs assessments and producing EHC plans. They are having to work differently in these difficult times. Read more about about how the Brighton & Hove SEN Team are working currently.

Reports by professionals will be done based on existing knowledge of a child, contact by phone and video conferencing e.g. Skype and where possible face to face assessment. Educational Psychologists will use a consultation approach, talking to parents, school and in some cases the child or young person. It will be noted that the reports were written during the coronavirus period and where necessary they may be amended later. There will not be a co-production meeting. The casework officer will prepare a draft plan based on all the advices which will go to SEN Panel and then be sent to you, the school and professionals who wrote the advices. You will then get a call to talk it through and you will be able to comment and ask for changes as you would have done at a co-production meeting. You and your child should still be actively involved in the process.

The SEN Panel is till meeting with the usual multi-agency membership including a parent representative.

East Sussex

ISEND services at East Sussex County Council are all still operating. Obviously they will be having to work differently in these difficult times, but the Assessment and Planning Team is still completing EHC needs assessments and producing EHC plans, keeping to normal timescales as far as possible.

Your APO should let you know if there are any delays and keep you updated. Reports by professionals may have to be done based on existing knowledge of a child, perhaps with some assessment by phone or video link or face to face assessment if possible. You and your child should still be actively involved in the process.

Educational Psychologists and Children’s Integrated Therapy and Equipment Service (CITES) therapists are continuing to assess children, where possible seeing children directly, either in their home, in schools (if they are attending) by pre-arrangement or in clinics. Where this is not been possible, assessment is being carried out from a range of sources such as phone calls and evidence from the school. Reports, statutory assessments and EHCPs being drawn up during Covid-19 are annotated to document that this was the case. This will be helpful once life returns to normal if you realise you want to review advice and provision in EHCPs written in the current situation.

The Inclusion Multi-Agency Resource Panel (IMARP) is following its usual timetable.

The government passed the Coronavirus Act in response to the outbreak. This gave them the power to relax some of the law around EHCPs and between April and August 2020 they activated these powers. But this has now ended and your child’s usual rights have been restored.  This means the normal duties to provide what it says in an EHC Plan are back in force now.

Realistically, things have been challenging for schools and colleges during the pandemic. The changes schools are having to make to be Covid-safe will affect how they support your child. For example, schools may need to use their staff (including teaching assistants) differently from usual and there will be more issues when staff are sick or have to self-isolate.  But the usual law and guidance about meeting the needs of children with SEND (on SEN Support or with EHC plans) all apply, so you can expect your child to get extra support in some form that matches their needs. Specialist teachers, therapists, clinicians and other support staff for pupils with SEND should be able to provide advice and some interventions.

Our advice is to ask how all this will work for your child. Be flexible, but if your child has an EHC plan, the provision set out in that should be delivered in some form. Any changes to provision you agree are only temporary. The government guidance was clear that parents who consented to changes to, or reductions in, their child’s provision during the coronavirus outbreak will not be considered to have agreed a permanent change to what their child needs in their EHC plan.

The Coronavirus Emergency legislation gave LAs and schools some flexibility on the deadlines for annual reviews. This relaxation of the rules ended on 25 September 2020 and annual reviews should now happen on the usual timetable. Schools have made use of telephone and video conferencing to carry out annual review meetings but will now be shifting back to some meetings in person. They may offer you a choice.

In both East Sussex and Brighton and Hove there have been some delays in getting fully up to date with completing annual reviews after the annual review meeting but both LAs are working on this.

Mediation is continuing but face to face meetings have been replaced by video conferencing. Feedback from parents who have had a mediation in this way has been positive.

Tribunals are going ahead during the coronavirus period. SEND Tribunal hearings are being carried out on paper (if all parties agree) or by telephone or video call. Feedback from people who have had a video call hearing is that it works fairly well. If you have a hearing coming up the tribunal service will contact you to make arrangements.  The Tribunal have asked parties not to call them until 2 days before hearings if they haven’t heard anything as, like every public service, they are affected by staff shortages as a result of Covid-19.

Since 30 March 2020, appeals and claims have been prioritised by the judiciary and consideration given to the use of additional approaches including triaging of cases to ensure that decisions are made proportionately.  With these measures, it is expected that there should be no need to adjourn hearings if the parties are ready to go ahead, even though they may not be able to take place in person. For new appeals, timescales and priorities have changed in the light of the pandemic. Any new appeals are now going to be listed on a 20-week timetable, unless it is about a phase transfer, which will be 12-14 weeks. And timescales to comply with tribunal decisions have also been relaxed.

The National Trial, which extends the power of the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) to look at health and social care within an EHCP, is continuing and has recently been extended indefinitely. The trial allows the tribunal to make non-binding recommendations on the health and social care aspects of EHC plans as part of a special educational appeal, . These recommendations need to be considered in the usual way by the responsible health and social care bodies and, where agreed, included in the final EHC plan.

You can find further guidance on how telephone and video hearings are being used during the COVID-19 outbreak here

IPSEA also have helpful information and tips

The LGO stopped taking any new cases at the start of the coronavirus crisis but restarted in June 2020.

Appeals about admissions are still possible, for example about the primary school or secondary school your child has been allocated. The rules have been changed temporarily so that these appeals don’t have to take place in person. They can be by telephone, video conference or through a paper-based appeal where all parties can make representations in writing.

When most children went back to school last year parents were able to stop home schooling unless this is something they do from choice. Then from January to March 2021 many parents had to pick up home learning again. Even children who were shielding are expected to be back in school from April. If your child is off temporarily, for example because they have to self-isolate, school should provide remote learning including materials and online sessions or calls. If you are on a low income they may be able to apply for additional mobile data for your child or even a lap top or tablet. As a parent there is only so much you can do to teach your child at home, especially if you also have to work or look after other children. If you want advice and ideas you may want to look at the Government guidance for parents about supporting your child with education at home which has advice and links to resources to use. It includes a SEND section and SEND specific resources

If the experience of educating your child at home has been a success for them and for you, it is possible that you might consider continuing with this long term. If your child struggles to return to school because of the disruption over the pandemic, it may be wise not to rush into a decision either way. Schools should not push you towards taking your child off the school roll unless you are making a positive and well-informed choice to do so.

If your child has an EHC plan and, for whatever reason, you feel they could be better off remaining at home for the longer term, you have two options and it is important to understand the difference between them. Choosing to educate your child yourself at home is known as elective home education (EHE). The other is education otherwise than in a setting (EOTAS). This can be home tuition because they are too ill to attend school at the moment or a bespoke package because school provision is not appropriate for them.

If you choose to electively home educate a child with an EHC plan, your LA is likely to say that you are making your own arrangements for the child’s education, and so will no longer be obliged to make any of the provision in your child’s EHC plan. The alternative is asking for your child’s EHC plan to be amended to set out EOTAS rather than naming a school. If you want this, you can ask for the EHC plan to be amended through the annual review process. If the LA does not agree, you could appeal to the SEND Tribunal. However, EOTAS can only be set out in an EHC plan where it can be demonstrated that it would be “inappropriate” for the provision to be made in a school so this is not a quick and easy option to pursue.

If your child doesn’t have an EHC plan it is likely that the only option would be elective home education. But if your child is too ill to attend, and this can apply to some children who are school refusing due to severe anxiety, they may be covered by the legal duty on local authorities to “secure suitable, full-time alternative education for those children of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion or otherwise, may not for any period receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them”.  Speak to your school and ask SENDIASS for advice if you are in this position.

If you are thinking about home educating this you might start by reading the information on home education  from SENDIASS.

If your child is missing school because the school says they can’t meet their needs, contact SENDIASS for advice and (if they have an EHCP) their APO or Casework Officer.