As winter illnesses continue to circulate at high levels and pupils are returning to education, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published a reminder on how to minimise the spread of illness in education and childcare settings.
UKHSA advice remains clear that children can continue to attend as normal unless they are unwell and have a high temperature. Further information on when a child is too ill for school or nursery is available.
There is no requirement to be absent from school on a precautionary basis. School staff should continue to maintain their high expectations for face-to-face attendance.
For further information, please also see our Education Hub post on the latest guidelines around COVID-19 and for Strep A, our separate post on the exact circumstances in which children should be kept off school.
UKHSA is providing regular updates on Strep A. Both UKHSA and DfE are continuing to closely monitor the situation.
The Department for Education (DfE) have made changes to the safeguarding requirements of the EYFS that are statutory from 1st September 2025. There are two updated statutory requirements, one specific to childminders and one specific to group based early years settings. In alignment with this, the Early Years Team have developed two Safeguarding Self-Assessment and Evaluation Audit… Continue reading Early Years: Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Safeguarding Reforms 2025
From 1 September 2025, the updated (EYFS) Safeguarding Reforms will become statutory for all registered Early Years providers. To support this transition, providers are expected to use the ‘Safeguarding Self-Evaluation Tool 2025′. This tool helps embed the 2025 safeguarding reforms into daily practice, supports leadership and management self-evaluation, and aligns with the new Ofsted inspection framework. We invite all… Continue reading EY: Early Years Safeguarding Reforms 2025: Using the ‘H&F Self-Evaluation Tool’
