Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance
Advice for schools and childcare settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including operating guidance and emergency contacts.
Updates and letters
Risk assessment tool (doc)
Infection control management
Government guidance
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery premium funding: allocations and conditions of grant 2022 to 2023
- UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) health protection in education and childcare settings
- DfE emergency planning and response
- DfE good estate management for schools
- Guidance for people with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19, or a positive test result for COVID-19
- Living safely with respiratory infections, including COVID-19
- Ventilation of indoor spaces to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections
- COVID-19 guidance for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk
- Reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace
DfE helpline: 0800 046 8687 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, weekends 10am to 4pm)
School operating guidance
Guidance for schools and early years providers during the pandemic.
- Attendance
- Bereavement
- Educational psychology
- Emergency contacts
- Facilities and buildings
- Free school meals
- Home working
- Planning and risk assessment
- Remote education
- Safeguarding
- School governance
- SEND
- Staffing
- Symptoms and testing
- Vulnerable groups
- Wellbeing and mental health
Attendance
Attendance guidance for schools.
Schools should be taking an attendance register and using the codes suggested on this page to record attendance and absence. All settings should submit daily attendance figures using the educational setting status form by midday every day.
Guidance for off rolling for children gone abroad
Bereavement
During the pandemic, schools may have to deal with the death of a member of staff as a result of the coronavirus or for other reasons. Read about what you should do when an employee dies and use our letter template to correspond with the next of kin in these circumstances
Educational psychology
Recovery, re-introduction and renewal: Safe and successful returns to school (a handbook by the Association of Educational Psychologists)
Educational psychology service delivery
Advice for schools: Transition and back to school during COVID 19
Emergency contacts and support
Local authority and Ealing Learning Partnership teams will do all they can to support schools. For urgent support, please refer to the emergency contact list. For other support requests, please contact Julie Lewis .
There are tactical groups in place to plan and communicate back to the emergency management response team to keep schools open and in relation to short and long term school recovery issues arising from COVID-19.
Facilities and buildings
- DfE good estate management for schools
- ventilation of indoor spaces to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections
- webinar from Cath Noakes and Henry Burridge, Senior Lecturer in Fluid Mechanics
- the DfE Education Hub Blog for tips on managing ventilation in colder weather
- a short video on ventilation and CO2 monitors in schools by Cath Noakes, Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings
- Using CO₂ monitors and air cleaning units in education and care settings - GOV.UK
- How to use CO2 monitors: (Schools & Colleges handbook - windows.net)
- How to use air cleaning units (Schools & Colleges handbook - windows.net)
Financial support
- Covid-19 catch-up premium: provisional allocations guidance (GOV.UK)
- Self-isolation payments (Ealing Council) The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme ended on 24 February 2022.
Home working guidance
- DSE workstation checklist (word)
- Protect home workers (DSE) - Includes video on how to set up a workstation for temporary home working
- Microsoft Teams quick start guide (pdf)
- Communicating via Teams (pdf)
- CIEHF Home working and staying healthy (pdf)
Planning and risk assessment
- Risk assessment tool (doc)
- Risk assessment example for pregnant workers (doc)
- Health improvement recovery curriculum
- Guidance for professionals working with parents to support children’s return to school (ppt)
- COVID-19 prevention and mangement plan November 2021 (Ealing Council)
Safeguarding
- DSL guidance for primary school pupils (pdf) (EGfL login required)
- DSL guidance for high school pupils (pdf) Updated October 2021 (EGfL login required)
- Safeguarding toolkit for school DSLs (doc) Updated January 2022 (EGfL login required)
- This is an updated resource to guide and support your DSL role in carrying out safeguarding duties both for children in school and those who are learning at home. It also provides contact details for professional support service.
- Private fostering during COVID-19 Updated March 2021(pdf).
School governance
- DfE school governance update September 2022
- Ealing governance news For any further information or advice please email governors@ealing.gov.uk.
Staffing
- Staffing guidance (pdf) August 2023
Symptoms and testing
Infection control measures
Children and young people Covid-19 infection scenarios
Staff Covid-19 infection scenarios
Vulnerable groups
How schools are working to overcome the challenges facing vulnerable groups of pupils during the pandemic:
- COVID-19 Vulnerable groups addendum report (pdf) March 2021
- COVID-19 Vulnerable groups report 1 (pdf)
- COVID-19 Vulnerable groups report 2 (pdf) August 2020.
Where schools have concerns including not have a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) they should contact ECIRS. Emergency contact list
Keeping in touch guidance for DSLs (word)
Please use this guidance to support members of staff keeping in touch by phone with parents of vulnerable children.
Support your school's response if you have low attendance of vulnerable pupils:
- Ealing Safeguarding process to help increase attendance of vulnerable children during COVID-19
- Ealing Safeguarding guidance – Frequently asked questions COVID-19
Children and young people, social care
- Raj Chowdhury, Children's, adults and public health: chowdhuryr@ealing.gov.uk020 8825 7287 / Mob: 07568 130 165