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7th July 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson to address all school leavers

On Friday 10 July at 10am, the Prime Minister will be giving an address to all school leavers which will be broadcast on Facebook and YouTube.

Please encourage your final year students to tune in!

A recording of the address will be available to view on both platforms.

Updated guidance on changes to the law on education, health and care needs assessments and plans due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

We have updated the guidance on changes to the law on education, health and care needs assessments and plans due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

On 2 July, the Secretary of State for Education confirmed that all children and young people, including those with education, health and care (EHC) plans, will return to education settings full time from the beginning of the autumn term. We are committed to ensuring that children and young people can receive the support they need to return to school or college. As such, unless the evidence changes, we will not be issuing further national notices to modify section 42 of the 2014 Act. We will consider whether any such flexibilities may be required at a local level to respond to outbreaks.

Once the notice expires or is cancelled, local authorities and health commissioning bodies will need to secure or arrange the full range of provision specified in EHC plans.

Updated guidance on PE and Sport Premium for primary schools

The Government is committed to ensuring that children and young people do at least 60 minutes of sport and physical activity per day, with 30 minutes of this delivered during the school day, in line with guidelines from the Chief Medical Officer.

We have updated the guidance on the PE and Sport Premium for primary schools to confirm that the existing guidelines regarding the use of the PE and Sport Premium continue to apply. These guidelines already permit a significant amount of flexibility in how the PE and Sport Premium can be used.

Individual school allocations for 2020-21 will be confirmed in due course.

New guidance for teaching mathematics in primary schools

We have published supportive non-statutory guidance for teaching mathematics at key stages 1 and 2 to help pupils progress through the national curriculum.

This guidance will support long and short-term planning of mathematics teaching for all primary schools. Teachers may also find it particularly helpful in curriculum planning and prioritisation for pupils whose education has been disrupted during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Updated guidance on managing school premises during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

We have updated the guidance on managing school premises during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to include minor changes to mechanical ventilation instructions and fire drills, and added social distancing guidelines.