Children and young people in all year groups will return to school and college

Children and young people in all year groups will return to school and college from the beginning of the autumn term.

New government guidance has been issued on pupils wearing face coverings in schools. For staff and children in year 7 or above, it will be the school’s choice whether face coverings should be worn in communal areas or not. Schools will communicate this directly to parents and pupils. Please follow your school or colleges' guidelines on face coverings and other safety measures. You can read the government guidelines on returning to schools, colleges and nurseries here.

Schools and colleges will minimise contact between pupils and encourage maintaining distance as far as possible. They will decide how best to do this because it will be different for each school or college. This will involve asking children and young people to:
stay within specified separate groups (or bubbles)
maintain distance between individuals

If you have just returned from one of the countries on the government's quarantine list you, and anyone you went away with, must self-isolate. If there are children in this group you will need to let your school know but you can be reassured that you won’t be fined, this is a necessary precaution to take to limit the spread of the virus.

School Attendance
It is vital for all children to return to school to minimise the longer-term impact on their education, wellbeing and wider development. We know that children have missed being with their friends and missing out on more time in the classroom risks pupils falling further behind.

From September 2020, the usual rules on school attendance apply, including:
parents’ duty to send their child to school regularly where they are of compulsory school age
schools’ responsibilities to record attendance and follow up absence
the availability of local authorities to use legal sanctions, including penalty notices and prosecution in court.

If you are worried about your child attending school the first port of call is to discuss your concerns with the child's school directly. The school has specialist staff who may be able to help, and all schools work closely with Royal Borough Children Service teams who may also be able to help if needed.