Evidence Summary: COVID-19 -- Children, Young People and Education Settings

At every stage since the start of the pandemic, decisions across education and care have been informed by the scientific and medical evidence -- both on the risks of COVID-19 infection, transmission and illness, and on the known risks to children and young people not attending school and college -- balancing public health and education considerations. The overwhelming evidence is that the risk to children and young people from SARSCoV-2 (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19) is low, but the risks to children and young people of being out of school and college are high and increase the longer restrictions on education are in force. The Government's priority has been keeping education and care settings fully open for as long as possible -- with a consistent message that these settings should be considered last when implementing restrictions, and first when restrictions can be lifted. As such the Government has taken, and continues to take, other steps across society and the economy to manage the spread of the virus, to allow restrictions on education to be lifted. This summary sets out the evidence relevant to, and in support of, the Government's decision to lift restrictions on education from 8 March 2021 -- focussed in particular on schools, colleges and early years settings. This roadmap is a step-by-step plan to ease restrictions in England cautiously, starting with schools and colleges. Before taking each further step, the Government will review the latest data on the impact of the previous step against four tests. The tests are: (1) The vaccine deployment programme continues successfully; (2) Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated; (3) Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS; and (4) Assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern. In addition, to ensure education and care policy is guided by the most up-to-date scientific evidence as this continues to evolve, the Department for Education regularly reviews data, analysis and advice from a number of different sources including the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), Public Health England, the Office for National Statistics, and the Joint Biosecurity Centre.