Updated Government Guidance as of 6th April

Physical Activity

• You have the flexibility to decide how physical education, sport and physical activity will be provided while following the measures in your system of controls.
• Pupils should be kept in consistent groups, sports equipment thoroughly cleaned between each use by different individual groups.
• You can hold PE lessons indoors, including those that involve activities related to team sports, for example practising specific techniques, within your own system of controls.
• For sport provision, outdoor sports should be prioritised where possible, and large indoor spaces used where it is not, maximising natural ventilation flows (through opening windows and doors or using air conditioning systems wherever possible), distancing between pupils, and paying scrupulous attention to cleaning and hygiene. This is particularly important in a sport setting because of the way in which people breathe during exercise. External facilities can also be used in line with government guidance for the use of, and travel to and from, those facilities.
• Where you are considering team sports you should only consider those sports whose national governing bodies have developed guidance under the principles of the government’s guidance on team sport and been approved by the government such as sports on the list available at grassroots sports guidance for safe provision including team sport, contact combat sport and organised sport events.
• From 29 March, outdoor competition between different schools can take place.
• From 12 April, indoor competition between different schools can take place.

Refer to:

• guidance on grassroot sports for public and sport providers, safe provision and facilities, and guidance from Sport England
• advice from organisations such as the Association for Physical Education and the Youth Sport Trust
• guidance from Swim England on school swimming and water safety lessons available at returning to pools guidance documents
• using changing rooms safely

You can work with external coaches, clubs and organisations for curricular and extra-curricular activities. You must be satisfied that it is safe to do.

Activities such as active miles, making break times and lessons active and encouraging active travel can help pupils to be physically active while encouraging physical distancing.

Wraparound provision and extra-curricular activity

You should be working to resume all your before and after-school educational activities and wraparound childcare for your pupils, where this provision is necessary to support parents to work, attend education and access medical care, and as part of pupil’s wider education and training. We will amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 to allow for this. Vulnerable children can attend these settings regardless of circumstance.

You should advise parents that where they are accessing this provision for their children, they must only be using this, where one of the following applies:

• where the provision is taking place outdoors – all children may access outdoor provision regardless of circumstances
• their children are eligible for free school meals and are attending provision as part of the holiday activities and food programme
• the provision is being offered as part of the school’s educational activities (including catch-up provision)
• the provision is for a vulnerable child or young person
• the provision is as part of their child’s efforts to obtain a regulated qualification or meet the entry requirements of an education institution

the use of the provision is reasonably necessary to support them to:

• work
• seek work
• undertake education or training
• attend a medical appointment
• address a medical need
• attend a support group

In line with the government roadmap, from 12 April all parents may access wraparound and extra-curricular provision, without any restrictions on the reasons for which they may attend.

You should continue to work closely with any external wraparound providers which your pupils may use to minimise mixing between children. This can be achieved by taking steps such as trying to keep children in the same school day bubble or school together, or in consistent groups. If the provision is taking place indoors and it is not possible to group children in the same bubble as they are in during the school day, providers should try to keep them in consistent groups of no more than 15 children and at least one staff member. Activities taking place outdoors can happen in groups of any number. This is because the transmission risk is lower outside.

The guidance for providers who run community activities, holiday clubs, after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school provision for children may help you to plan extra-curricular provision.

Where parents are using external childcare providers or out of school extra-curricular activities for their children, you should also:

• advise them to limit their use of multiple out-of-school settings providers, and to only use one out-of-school setting in addition to school as far as possible.
• encourage them to check providers have put in place their own protective measures
• send them the link to the guidance for parents and carers

If you hire out your premises for use by external wraparound childcare providers, such as after-school or holiday clubs, make sure these organisations have:

• considered the relevant government guidance for their sector
• put in place protective measures