The Government has issued guidance in response to coronavirus (COVID-19), targeted towards those who live in educational residences including colleges, residential special schools, residential children’s homes, state and independent boarding schools, further education colleges and university halls of residence. This new guidance provides household isolation advice for both children, young people and the staff that work to support them.
The full publication, which can be accessed by following this link, provides further information on how to manage isolation should they or a member of staff begin to show symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19).
The new guidance confirms that children’s homes, special schools and colleges, other residential Further Education provision and mainstream boarding schools will be considered as households under the government’s household isolation policy. However, institutions will need to decide if they are multiple or single households depending on their layout and structure. Such as, where there are several homes spread across different buildings, these can be treated as multiple households. In halls of residence, households can be defined as those students who share cooking or washing facilities, or both, living in the same cluster of flats or on the same floor.
Children’s Minister Vicky Ford said:
“There are many children and young people that live in different kinds of households, whether that be children’s homes, boarding schools, special schools or university or college halls of residence. We need to make sure that everyone knows how to safely isolate as a household in these challenging times to ensure we are protecting as many people as possible.
The Department has today issued guidance on how residential settings should decide what constitutes a household and how children, young people, staff and carers can manage safe isolation if they live in an a typical home.”
There is also more practical advice for how to manage issues arising from coronavirus (COVID-19) for those who care for children and young people with more serious illnesses or special needs in residential special schools and colleges.
This advice is subject to change and we will try our best to keep this information updated regularly. Please contact your HR Consultant by calling 01924 827869 if you have any specific questions or would like further support through this challenging time.
Resources:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/isolation-guidance-for-residential-educational-settings
