Human influenza pandemic: frequently asked questions

Closures

Should schools and early years and group childcare settings be closing now?
At this time schools and early years and group childcare settings should be operating normally. If a child is suspected of having a virus that might be swine flu - even if the child is currently out of school or setting - you should take advice from your local public health advisers. Unless they advise you to close as a precautionary measure, we would not expect you to do so.

What if it becomes a pandemic?
The fact of a pandemic being declared (WHO alert level 6) would not change the situation. Schools and settings should still remain open until they are advised to close: either by their public health advisers for reasons specific to the school; or if the Government determines that the risk to children is such that all schools and settings should close when the pandemic reaches their area.

Why might you want schools and early years and group childcare settings to close?
Influenza spreads rapidly in schools and settings. If they close at the right time, it could significantly reduce the spread of infection and the number of children infected.

What notice of closure can schools and early years and group childcare settings expect to receive, and from whom? Who will tell parents? And will closure be immediate?
If schools and settings were advised to close when the pandemic reached their area, the local authority would advise the head teacher or setting manager when this happened and the advice thus became applicable. In that situation, we would expect any closure to take effect from the end of the day when that message was received from the local authority, unless staff shortages made it impossible for the school to operate safely for the day - unlikely in the early stages of a pandemic. We would not expect parents to be asked to come and collect their children earlier than usual.

What teaching and learning should pupils receive when schools are closed?
Where schools are closed for an extended period in a flu pandemic students should be provided with a reasonable degree of teaching and learning - if schools operate a virtual learning environment they should use it to set, distribute, receive and mark homework. Guidance on supporting learning if schools close for extended periods in a flu epidemic is available on the emergencies planning area of this site.

Who decides if an independent school should close?
It is for the proprietor or governing body of an independent school to take any decision on closure, taking into account advice from local Health Protection Agency teams. If the Government were to advise all schools in an area to close, it would be up to independent schools to decide whether to follow that advice. In practice we would expect independent schools to heed the Government's advice, and the Independent Schools Association have advised their members to follow health advice.

Who would make the decision to close an early years or group childcare setting?
The power to close an early years or group childcare setting lies with the employer, though this could be delegated to the setting's manager. If considering closing a setting in a situation like this, we would also expect them to take advice from the local Health Protection Agency. The decisions should not be made independently as it will cause unnecessary disruption to learning and childcare issues.

Staying safe while open

If a pupil or a member of staff has come back from Mexico, should they return to school, or stay away for a few days in case of infection?
They should come into school if they have no symptoms, even if they have been in contact with a suspected case (unless they have been given specific advice to the contrary by a medical practitioner).

Examinations: summary of government guidance for schools

This advice should be read in conjunction with the following Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) publications:

If the school or college is to be closed until shortly before examinations start, how do I make arrangements for any outstanding examination papers to be securely delivered?
It is important that you liaise with the awarding body. They will be able to make arrangements to ensure papers can be securely delivered in such circumstances.

If a pupil has a doctor's note confirming that they are too unwell to take an examination, what do I do to ensure she/he is not disadvantaged?
You should follow the process for applying for what is known as 'special considerations' using form JCQ/SC 10, available via the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) website. See link above on 'Special Considerations'.

'Special considerations' allows an awarding body to award a grade where an exam cannot be taken, provided that there is sufficient evidence to make a reasonable judgement. This is the fairest possible approach for all candidates. The requirements for special consideration are published by Ofqual in the Code of Practice for GCSEs and GCEs.

Where schools and/or colleges have been advised to close, would candidates still be able to sit exams?
There are three possibilities. One is that the school or college opens to take the exam. The decision to do this will need to be taken locally in discussion with the local Health Protection Agency team. If the exam cannot be taken, the school or college will need to apply for 'special considerations' for the candidates affected.

A possible third option in some circumstances may be for candidates to take the examination at an alternative location (see 'Can arrangements be made for candidates to take examinations in a school or college nearby?' below).

What sort of evidence is required in applying for 'special considerations'?
A grade is awarded under 'special considerations' based on the assessment a candidate has completed. To ensure the grade reflects what a candidate has demonstrated he/she can do there is a minimum level of assessment required. For example, in the case of an AS award 50% of the assessment will need to have been completed.

More details are available in Chapter 13 of with the JCQ publication Access Arrangements, Reasonable Adjustments and Special Considerations 2008-09 (see link above).

What if a candidate hasn't completed the minimum amount of assessment required for 'special considerations'?
For the vast majority of candidates this will not be an issue. They will have completed assessments throughout the course and be taking the final examination only at this point in order that a grade can be awarded. Please contact the awarding body if this is not the case and they will discuss the options available to ensure the candidate is treated fairly whilst protecting the validity of the qualification.

Can a grade be awarded on the basis of mock examinations?
Section 13.3 of Access Arrangements, Reasonable Adjustments and Special Considerations 2008-09 stipulates that, in exceptional circumstances, other, appropriate evidence of attainment may be accepted by the awarding body only if the minimum requirements have not been met.

Can arrangements be made for candidates to take examinations in a school or college nearby?
We think it is unlikely that this would be a useful option in most cases, and could create significant difficulties if large numbers of candidates were involved. However, please contact your awarding body to discuss the issues if you think this may be an option. You would also need to confirm that the neighbouring school or college is agreeable and has the capacity. The other centre should seek assurance from the Health Protection Agency that such an arrangement would not pose a health risk.

Will it be possible for examinations to be taken at a later date?
There are no plans to re-schedule examinations in the summer. Normal arrangements for re-sitting exams will be available where this is the most appropriate option. Awarding bodies will be able to provide detailed advice.


What if a candidate doesn't turn up for an examination because they are concerned about infection?
Candidates are only eligible for 'special considerations' if they have a medical certificate or have been advised by their school or college not to attend an exam. Schools and colleges should make sure that candidates are clear about the requirements.

Who is responsible for deciding whether an examination can go ahead?
The decision on whether an examination can go ahead is made locally by the school or college in discussion with the local Health Protection Agency teams.

Is it possible that all examinations will be cancelled?
It is very unlikely we will get to that position. But of course we are keeping the situation under review; if the position changes for the worse, we will review all options, ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly.

Will universities accept grades awarded following 'special consideration' requests?
When a 'special consideration' request is made, a grade is only awarded when sufficient evidence is available. The published grade does not have any indication of 'special considerations' having been applied. These grades have the same status as those awarded normally and will be accepted. These are not 'estimated grades'.

Will universities allow late entries if examination results are delayed?
 'Special considerations' are processed to the same timetable as examination awarding so there should be no impact on awarding day. But we are keeping all the processes involved in awarding a grade under review with UCAS and the awarding bodies to ensure contingencies are in place should there be difficulties later in the summer.

If schools and/or colleges are closed for several weeks, this would have a severe adverse effect on children's education. Would they be able to apply for 'special considerations'?
Detailed guidance is available and the position is being kept under review, but in general the answer is no. In practice students undertaking examinations this year will already have covered the syllabus and this period will have been used for revision.

If the school or college is closed after an examination takes place, how do I make arrangements for scripts to be collected?
You must contact the Parcel Force helpdesk who will advise on collection.

What do I do if there are not enough invigilators to cover the examination?
Invigilators are suitably qualified and experienced adults who must not be current students at the centre. Therefore, it may be possible to recruit additional suitable people from within the local community.

Although the head of centre may decide who is suitably qualified and experienced, any relative of a candidate in the examination room must not be the sole invigilator. Invigilators need to be appropriately trained in their duties.

Any teacher who has prepared the candidates for the subject of the examination during the academic year of the examination must not be the sole invigilator at any time during a written examination in that subject.

Advice and guidance to parents

Should I send my child to school?
While schools are open parents should send their children to school unless they have any symptoms. They will be advised if the school is to close and what to do then. These decisions will be made in the light from advice by health professionals with expert knowledge who will always have the interests of pupils in mind. We urge parents not to withdraw their children unless given this advice. It would be for local authorities to decide on any action against parents keeping healthy children off school.

What could working parents do if their child's school or nursery was closed for an extended period? Would they have to stay off work?
We appreciate that closures would present a challenge for working parents, but believe they would agree with a decision taken to reduce a significant threat to their children's wellbeing.

Parents would have to make other arrangements for looking after their children. Some might be able to work from home, work flexible hours, or use informal childcare arrangements with a relative or friend.

Could employers with a significant proportion of parent workers establish their own nursery?
Any advice to close group childcare settings would apply to such a newly established nursery or crèche as much as to any other establishment, so it would not be helpful for employers to do this. Also, any such new facility would have to be registered with Ofsted, which could not be completed at very short notice; they would have to check that relevant National Standards are met before confirming registration.

Parent workers staying off work to look after children will have a severe impact on the economy and on essential services.

We have drawn this issue to the attention of employers so that they can plan for this eventuality. It will have an impact on all sectors, but with good planning we believe that impact to be manageable.

More general advice and guidance for parents can be found on Directgov.

Where to find more information

The most accurate public information on the current situation can be found here: