mteb/FeedbackQARetrieval huggingface dataset:
Guidance Staying alert and safe (social distancing)
Clinically vulnerable people
If you have any of the following health conditions, you are clinically
vulnerable, meaning you are at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus.
You are advised to stay at home as much as possible and, if you do go out,
take particular care to minimise contact with others outside your household.
Clinically vulnerable people are those who are:

aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)
under 70 with an underlying health condition listed below (that is, anyone instructed to get a flu jab each year on medical grounds):
chronic (long-term) mild to moderate respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema or bronchitis
chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
chronic kidney disease
chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), or cerebral palsy
diabetes
a weakened immune system as the result of certain conditions, treatments like chemotherapy, or medicines such as steroid tablets
being seriously overweight (a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above)
pregnant women

As above, there is a further category of people with serious underlying health
conditions who are clinically extremely vulnerable, meaning they are at very
high risk of severe illness from coronavirus. You, your family and carers
should be aware of the guidance on shielding which provides information on how
to protect yourself still further should you wish to.
Guidance Staying alert and safe (social distancing)
Public gatherings
To ensure people are social distancing, the government has prohibited by law
all public gatherings of more than two people, except for reasons set out in
the regulations. These include:

where the gathering is of a group of people who live together in the same household – this means that a parent can, for example, take their children to the shops, although you are advised to do so only if there is no option to leave them at home
where the gathering is essential for work purposes – but workers should try to minimise all meetings and other gatherings in the workplace

It is important that everyone continues to act responsibly in public places,
as the large majority have done to date. The infection rate will increase if
people begin to break the rules.
Guidance Staying alert and safe (social distancing)
Visiting public places
You can exercise outside as often as you wish and you can also sit and rest
outside – exercise or recreation can be alone, with members of your household,
or with one other person from outside your household, while keeping two metres
apart at all times.
You may drive to outdoor publicly accessible open spaces irrespective of
distance, but should follow social distancing guidance whilst you are there.
You should plan ahead to ensure that, where you are visiting places like
National Parks, you have checked that they are open and appropriately prepared
for visitors. You should not go to ticketed outdoor leisure venues, where
there is a higher risk of close contact and touching surfaces.
When travelling to outdoor spaces, it is important that people respect the
rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and do not travel to different
parts of the UK where their intended activities there would be prohibited by
legislation passed by the relevant devolved administration.
Guidance Staying alert and safe (social distancing)
Enforcing the law
The police and local authorities have the powers to enforce the requirements
set out in law if people do not
comply with them. The police will act with discretion and common sense in
applying these measures, but if you breach the law, they may instruct you to
go home or leave an area, or arrest you where they believe it necessary. They
may also instruct you to take steps to stop your children breaking these legal
requirements if they have already done so.
The government has introduced higher fines for those who do not comply, to
reflect the increased risk to others of breaking the rules as we begin to ease
the restrictions, and people return to work. If the police believe that you
have broken the law – or if you refuse to follow their instructions enforcing
the law – a police officer may issue you with a fixed penalty notice for £100
(reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days). If you have already received a fixed
penalty notice, the amount will increase to £200 and double on each further
repeat offence, up to a maximum of £3200.
Similarly, a business or venue operating in contravention of the law will be
committing an offence. Local authorities (for example, Environmental Health
and Trading Standards officers) will monitor compliance, with support from the
police if appropriate. Businesses and venues that breach the law will be
subject to prohibition notices and fixed penalty notices. Businesses that
continue to contravene the law will be forced to close down.
For both individuals and companies, if you do not pay, you may also be taken
to court, with magistrates able to impose potentially unlimited fines.
Guidance Staying alert and safe (social distancing)
Protecting different groups of people
This guidance is for the general public who are fit and well. There is
separate, specific guidance on isolation for households with a possible
coronavirus infection.
Some people, including those aged 70 and over, those with specific chronic
pre-existing conditions and pregnant women, are clinically vulnerable, meaning
they are at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus’. As we begin to
ease restrictions, this group who are clinically vulnerable – see section 8 –
should continue to take particular care to minimise contact with others
outside their household.
There is a further group of people who are defined, also on medical grounds,
as clinically extremely vulnerable to coronavirus – that is, people with
specific serious health conditions. They are advised to continue
shielding measures to keep
themselves safe by staying at home and avoiding all contact with others,
except for essential medical treatment or support.
Guidance Staying safe outside your home
When at work, follow the advice given to you by your employer
Employers have a duty to assess and manage risks to your safety in the
workplace. The government has issued guidance for employers and businesses on
coronavirus. This includes guidance on how to make adjustments to
your workplace to help you maintain social distancing.
It also includes guidance on hygiene, as evidence suggests that the virus can
exist for up to 72 hours on surfaces. Therefore, frequent cleaning is
particularly important for communal surfaces like:

door handles
lift buttons
communal areas like bathrooms
kitchens
tea points

You can see the guidance for employers and businesses on
coronavirus on gov.uk and can ask your employer if you have
questions.
Guidance Staying safe outside your home
Face coverings
If you can, wear a face covering in enclosed public spaces where social
distancing isn’t possible and where you will come into contact with people you
do not normally meet. This is most relevant for short periods indoors in
crowded areas, for example, on public transport or in some shops. You should
be prepared to remove your face covering if asked to do so by police officers
and staff for the purposes of identification.
Evidence suggests that wearing a face covering does not protect you. However,
if you are infected but have not yet developed symptoms, it may provide some
protection for others you come into close contact with.
Face coverings do not replace social distancing. If you have symptoms of
COVID-19 (cough, and/or high temperature, and/or loss of, or change in, your
normal sense of smell or taste - anosmia), you and your household must isolate
at home: wearing a face covering does not change this.
A face covering is not the same as the surgical masks or respirators used by
healthcare and other workers as part of personal protective equipment. These
should continue to be reserved for those who need them to protect against
risks in their workplace, such as health and care workers, and those in
industrial settings, like those exposed to dust hazards.
Face coverings should not be used by children under the age of 2 or those who
may find it difficult to manage them correctly. For example, primary age
children unassisted, or those with respiratory conditions.
It is important to use face coverings properly and wash your hands before
putting them on and taking them off.
You can make face-coverings at
home. The key thing is it should cover the mouth and nose.
Guidance Staying safe outside your home
Keep indoor places well ventilated
Evidence suggests that the virus is less likely to be passed on in well-
ventilated buildings and outdoors.
In good weather, try to leave windows and doors open in areas where people
from different households come into contact, or move activity outdoors if you
can.
Use external extractor fans to keep spaces well ventilated and make sure that
ventilation systems are set to maximise the air flow rate.
Heating and cooling systems can be used at their normal temperature settings.
Guidance Staying safe outside your home
Wash your clothes regularly
There is some evidence that the virus can stay on fabrics for a few days,
although usually it is shorter. Therefore, if you are working with people
outside your household, wash your clothes regularly.
Changing clothes in workplaces should only be considered where there is a high
risk of infection or there are highly vulnerable people, such as in a care
home. If you need to change your clothes, avoid crowding into a changing room.
Guidance Staying safe outside your home
Keep your distance from people outside your household
Whilst recognising this will not always be possible, it is important to be
aware that the risk of infection increases the closer you are to another
person with the virus, and the amount of time you spend in close contact with
them. Therefore, you are unlikely to be infected if you walk past another
person in the street.
Public Health England recommends trying to keep two metres away from people as
a precaution. However, this is not a rule and the science is complex. The key
thing is to not be too close to people for more than a short period of time,
as much as you can.
Guidance Supplier relief due to COVID-19: Procurement Policy Notice (PPN) 02/20 – additional post-16 educational sector guidance
Determining if you are a contracting authority
Reviewing and responding to supplier requests
All contracting authorities, including the Department for Education (DfE), are
working to implement PPN 02/20 to support suppliers at risk, and we realise
this is a complex area for us all to manage.
When reviewing and responding to supplier requests, contracting authorities
should take a pragmatic risk-based approach based on the advice within the
PPN.
[DfE]: Department for Education
  [PPN]: Procurement Policy Notice
Guidance Supplier relief due to COVID-19: Procurement Policy Notice (PPN) 02/20 – additional post-16 educational sector guidance
Background to PPN 02/20
To ensure service continuity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, all
public sector contracting authorities have been advised by the government to
support their at risk suppliers in a range of ways to ensure business and
service continuity and to protect jobs. The measures set out in the PPN 02/20,
issued on 19 March 2020, are to ensure suppliers are in a position to resume
normal contract delivery once the COVID-19 outbreak is over. The PPN is time-
limited and applies through to 30 June 2020.
The PPN is for contracted goods, services and work contracts, such as for
building works, where there is a direct relationship between the contracting
authority and its suppliers under a contract procured pursuant to the Public
Contracts Regulations 2015 (or equivalent regulations). It does not apply to
other funding mechanisms such as grants, or contracts supported by private
income such as for transport provision.
While contracting authorities have a responsibility to their own suppliers,
PPN 02/20 is advisory only, it does not bind contracting authorities to do
anything other than what they feel is appropriate under these challenging and
complex circumstances.
*[PPN]: Procurement Policy Notice
Guidance Supplier relief due to COVID-19: Procurement Policy Notice (PPN) 02/20 – additional post-16 educational sector guidance
Determining if you are a contracting authority
When considering how to implement the PPN, you first need to determine whether
you are a contracting authority and, if you are, which of your suppliers may
be at risk and fall within the scope of the supplier relief measures proposed
in PPN 02/20.
Educational establishments such as in HE and FE (covering FE corporations,
sixth-form college corporations, and likely bodies which conduct institutions
designated under section 28 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 as
being within the statutory FE sector) where the majority of income (more than
50%) is derived from state funding, will likely be ascribed the status of a
contracting authority.
Additionally, the Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015 definition of a
contracting authority relevant to the education sector is that of ‘bodies
governed by public law’, meaning bodies that have all of the following
characteristics:

they are established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character
they have legal personality
they have any of the following characteristics: 
they are financed, for the most part, by the state, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law
they are subject to management supervision by those authorities or bodies
they have an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the state, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law



Some HE and FE may be delivered by the voluntary organisations, community
groups and social enterprises (VCSE) sector, such as charities and other non-
profit-making entities, and derive more than 50% of their funding from state
resources. In that case they may be contracting authorities within the PCR
definition above, and so would be required to comply with the PCR and would
fall within the scope of the PPN.
If you are in any doubt about your status as a contracting authority, you may
wish to seek your own legal advice.
[PPN]: Procurement Policy Notice
  [HE]: higher education
  [FE]: further education
  [PCR]: Public Contracts Regulations
Guidance Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - actions for educational providers and other partners
Attendance of vulnerable children and young people
Actions for all educational providers in case of non-attendance
Where vulnerable children and young people do not attend, educational
providers should:

follow the steps outlined above, including following up with the parent/carer and notifying the social worker, where appropriate
follow the specific guidance on attendance outlined in Actions for educational and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020
Guidance Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - actions for educational providers and other partners
Attendance of vulnerable children and young people
Specific attendance considerations for alternative provision providers
Alternative provision (AP) settings should follow the same principles and
guidance as mainstream schools and welcome back, from the week commencing 1
June, all children in reception, year 1 and year 6.
AP settings do not have a year 12, so they should also offer some face to face
contact for students in year 10 and year 11 to supplement their remote
education, as they are approaching key transition points. Children and young
people who are considered to be vulnerable - as per the definition in section
1 above - should be encouraged to attend provision regardless of their year
group, where attendance is appropriate.
In line with the advice for mainstream provision, as much as possible,
protective measures should be adhered to and class or group sizes should be
small, as set out in implementing protective measures in education and
childcare settings
guidance.
*[AP]: alternative provision
Guidance Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - actions for educational providers and other partners
Addressing safeguarding concerns, including as a result of increasing numbers of children and young people returning to on-side provision
Addressing safeguarding concerns
As set out in more detail in separate safeguarding
guidance, schools and colleges, led by a
designated safeguarding lead or deputy wherever possible, should review and
revise their child protection policy as circumstances continue to evolve. This
guidance supports schools and colleges to continue to meet their safeguarding
responsibilities as set out in Keeping children safe in
education.
Early years settings should continue to take all necessary steps to keep
children safe during this period and have regard to the government’s statutory
guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015. The safeguarding and
welfare sections of the early years foundation stage framework still apply,
including requirements relating to child protection arrangements. For further
advice, read Actions for early years and childcare providers during the
coronavirus outbreak.
Guidance Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - actions for educational providers and other partners
Attendance of vulnerable children and young people
Attendance of children and young people who are otherwise vulnerable
This group includes children and young people across all year groups who have
been assessed as being otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local
authorities (including children’s social care services), and who could
therefore benefit from continued attendance. This might include children on
the edge of receiving support from children’s social care services, adopted
children, those at risk of becoming NEET, those living in temporary
accommodation, those who are young carers and others at the provider and local
authority’s discretion.
Educational providers - together with other relevant partners such as local
authorities, where appropriate - should:

identify children or young people who may fall into this ‘otherwise vulnerable’ category - noting that the examples given above do not constitute an exhaustive list of children and young people who might be ‘otherwise vulnerable’
contact these children and young people and their parents/carers to make them aware that they are eligible for a place
encourage their attendance, where it is appropriate, and if absent, follow up with the parent/carer to explore reasons for absence

*[NEET]: not in employment, education or training
Guidance Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - actions for educational providers and other partners
Supporting vulnerable children and young people’s learning
Supporting vulnerable children and young people’s learning via home education
The government has put in place several measures to support children and young
people to learn at home, and to use technology to support safeguarding. Some
of these measures, including providing laptops and tablets, are targeted at
those with the greatest need, including children and families with a social
worker who do not already have access to a device, as well as care leavers.
Educational providers and local authorities should refer to Get technology
support for children and schools during coronavirus
(COVID-19) on how to order devices and 4G routers.
Devices ordered through the scheme will be delivered directly to the local
authorities or schools named on the order. They can arrange for them to be
collected by families from a school (with a social worker present where
relevant) or organise for them to be delivered to a children’s and care
leavers’ home.
In addition, Oak National Academy’s 
existing online resources are being made more accessible through the addition
of signing and subtitling, and specialist lessons have also been introduced so
more pupils can engage effectively with these resources. There is also a list
of SEND resources for pupils and teachers that has been developed with a
focus on accessibility and inclusivity, based on the recommendations of
trusted organisations, charities, multi-academy trusts and special education
headteachers. For younger children, the government’s Hungry Little
Minds campaign features tips and
practical activities that parents can do at home with children to support
their early learning.
*[SEND]: special educational needs and disability
Guidance Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - actions for educational providers and other partners
Identification of vulnerable children and young people
Vulnerable children and young people for the purposes of continued attendance
during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak are those across all year groups
who:

are assessed as being in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, including children and young people who have a child in need plan, a child protection plan or who are a looked-after child
have an education, health and care (EHC) plan and it is determined, following risk assessment, that their needs can be as safely or more safely met in the educational environment
have been assessed as otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities (including children’s social care services), and who could therefore benefit from continued attendance. This might include children and young people on the edge of receiving support from children’s social care services, adopted children, those at risk of becoming NEET (‘not in employment, education or training’), those living in temporary accommodation, those who are young carers and others at the provider and local authority’s discretion.

The term ‘all year groups’ in this context for attendance purposes refers to
children under 5 eligible for early years entitlements and children and young
people aged 5 to 18 (or aged 5 to 25 for children and young people with an EHC
plan).
[EHC]: education, health and care
  [NEET]: not in employment, education or training
Guidance Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - actions for educational providers and other partners
Attendance of vulnerable children and young people
Actions in case of provider closure
If an educational provider had closed during the initial period of the
coronavirus outbreak, they should have informed the local authority to discuss
alternative arrangements for vulnerable children and young people. These
providers are now asked to work towards reopening so that they are able to
cater for vulnerable children and young people, alongside children of critical
workers and those in returning year groups.
Guidance Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - actions for educational providers and other partners
Staffing, transport and logistics
Transport - arrangements for children and young people with EHC plans who are continuing to attend educational settings
Local authorities should continue to provide transport for children and young
people with EHC plans who are continuing to attend their usual educational
setting. If between now and the week commencing 1 June, children and young
people with EHC plans are accessing an educational setting that is not local
or their usual setting, we would expect the local authority to review
transport arrangements and endeavour to make appropriate provision for
children and young people to reach their educational setting safely.
We will work closely with local authorities to put the necessary arrangements
for more children and young people to begin attending educational settings
from the week commencing 1 June.
*[EHC]: education, health and care