Change in frequency of the coronavirus (COVID-19) email updates from Monday 20 July

From Monday 20 July, we will be reducing the frequency of updates from every weekday, to one per week which will be sent on a Monday for the duration of the summer holidays. We plan to resume sending daily updates from Monday 24 August in preparation for the start of the autumn term.

Feedback survey on the coronavirus (COVID-19) email updates from Department for Education (DfE)

We began sending a daily email update to schools and further education providers, and local authorities to cascade to early years providers and children’s social care providers, in March 2020 to share information on the Government’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

We would be pleased to hear your feedback on the daily email update to help us improve it. Please spare 2 minutes to complete our short feedback survey.

Pausing of the educational settings status form over the summer holidays

After this week, we will no longer be asking schools and colleges to complete the daily return of the educational setting status form. The final day for completion of the form will be Friday 17 July. Thank you for taking the time to complete this daily return over the past few months. We will advise of any data return requirements from September in the coming weeks.

Temporary extension of free school meals eligibility to no recourse to public funds (NRPF) groups

In April, we temporarily extended free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). The extension of free school meal eligibility to these groups will continue while the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak impacts upon schools, including for the duration of the summer holidays.

Further information on eligibility criteria, the time period that this covers and completing an application can be found in the temporary extension to free school meals eligibility to NRPF groups guidance.

Updated guidance for initial teacher training providers

We have updated our guidance for initial teacher training (ITT) providers to include information on compliance with the ITT criteria (2020-21), ITT trainee consumer protection advice and the changes to the requirement for 120 days in schools as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Updated guidance on providing apprenticeships during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

We have updated our guidance on providing apprenticeships during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak confirming that providers can now make arrangements for 19+ apprentices to return to on-site delivery, where this can be safely accommodated. We also confirm that the temporary flexibility suspending the funding rule requiring level 2 apprentices to study towards, and attempt, level 2 functional skills assessments has been extended until 31 December 2020.