Agenda item

To receive and consider the Children’s Services Covid Task Force report.

The Committee received the Children’s Services Covid Task Force report which was set out in Agenda pages 29-36.

Gillian Cole, Service Manager for Schools addressed the Committee and made the following points:

·           The Task Force had been providing support to schools by:

o   signposting and disseminating information

o   helping to interpret national guidance from central government and health agencies

o   working with local and other partners

o   coordinating additional resources

o   supporting schools with local outbreaks

·           Currently the Task Force was helping schools with their business continuity planning, dealing with the spread of Omnicron and its impact on the attendance of both children and staff;

·           There were limited mitigation plans in primary schools, most mitigation plans were in place for secondary schools (mask wearing was mandatory in secondary schools).  Primary school children were also not vaccinated and were the most vulnerable section of the population;

·           Conversations were ongoing with the Department for Education (DfE) to find mitigations for primary school aged children to support continued uninterrupted learning;

·           The corporate Health and Safety Team produced guidance on air cleaning devices and ventilation for schools.

During the discussion of the item the following comments were made:

·           A Member asked if there were any particular concerns in relation to LAC and Care Leavers;

·           Gillian Cole informed that there was a dedicated Officer checking that the children for whom the Local Authority had corporate parenting responsibilities for were having their needs met during the pandemic, and identifying any additional needs;

·           A Member asked if there were sufficient resources to continue this high level of provision and if the costs were being covered by the central government;

·           Gillian Cole stated that additional capacity had been secured at the end of October, which would run until the Autumn term.  The funding for the additional hours came through the central government;

·           The contingency threshold framework measures had changed since Christmas, the national guidance in relation to isolation rules and advice on lateral flow tests had changed.  The advice was now for primary aged children to undertake lateral flow tests;

·           When schools reached the threshold they would be advised to carry out lateral flow tests for seven days, be advised on ventilation and be encouraged to purchase air cleaning devices.  There was now an air cleaning marketplace for which schools would have to self-fund to purchase devices to clean the air;

·           CO2 monitors were funded by central government, however they only measured the particles in the air, they did not clean out the air;

·           The Health and Safety team was advising schools on ventilation and technical aspects of air cleaning devices;

·           There was ongoing work with the communications team to advise parents and the community on the current guidance;

·           A Member stated that there had been an increase in the number of children with eating disorders since the start of the pandemic and asked if the Local Authority was working with the community around awareness about this issue;

·           Gillin Cole stated that there was a Wellbeing for Education Return Programme, this was a DfE funded initiative which the Council had been working with since August 2020.  There were also a range of activities being delivered to schools by the Education Improvement Team and Educational Psychologists for all age ranges.

Members thanked Gillian Cole and the Task Force Team for the work that had been undertaken to support schools during this difficult time, it was much appreciated.

In response to a question Gillian Cole stated that CO2 monitors eventually arrived after some chasing, but for some schools they arrived very late.

In response to a question about the availability of Covid testing kits, Gillian Cole informed that the Council was having to manage and prioritise the distribution of kits.  WBC had a stock of kits which could be provided to schools that had not received their orders.  Also, communication was being signposted to advise residents where kits were available in the community.

In response to a question Gillian Cole stated that the current expectation was that exams would be going ahead this year.  However, it was possible that this could change, therefore schools were being advised to run three mock exams in preparation for possible Teacher Assessed Grades, should they be needed.

In relation to a question about anti-vaccine material that schools had been subjected to, Gillin Cole stated that the DfE was providing very strong legal support on this issue.  Every such correspondence received by schools were being passed straight to the DfE’s legal department who were dealing with them.

RESOLVED That the report be noted.