Will primary schools remain open?
Yes, primary schools will remain open other than during usual half term holidays. The Welsh Government has said throughout that ensuring children can continue to be taught in school is a priority, and schools are also a safe environment.
Will secondary schools remain open?
Secondary schools will re-open after the half-term for children in years seven and eight. Pupils will be able to come in to take exams but other pupils will continue their learning from home for an extra week.
What will happen in universities?
Universities can continue to provide a combination of in person teaching and blended learning.
While incidents of Covid-19 have risen in the student population, evidence shows this is taking place outside the teaching and learning environment. Universities are operating Covid-secure campuses and adhering to strict social distancing. Coronavirus cases amongst staff remain low.
It is also much safer for students to remain on campus than to travel home.
Are university students who live away from home expected to return home?
Welsh Government are asking all students living in Wales, and all our Welsh students living outside Wales, to help us keep Wales safe by not travelling between university and home.
You should only move between your term time address and your home address if absolutely necessary, for example for work, to provide or receive care or because of concerns about your wellbeing. You should not return home for a ‘visit’ during this period. You should not travel home if you have been asked to self-isolate or have Covid-19 symptoms.
What will happen in colleges?
Colleges will move to online-only provision for the week following half term. Work-based learning programmes, like apprenticeships and traineeships, and adult learning will also be online-only for the period of the lockdown. Students scheduled to take GCSE resits or university entrance exams in the first week of November can attend college to do so.
Childcare
Are childcare providers still allowed to operate?
Yes. Children can continue to access their usual childcare provider, and you can travel to provide, access or receive childcare.
All childcare providers, including Flying Start childcare, can remain open and offer their normal services, including provision through the half term holidays. This includes childcare providers operating from community centers, places of worship and school sites. Nannies can also continue to provide childcare.
Can family or friends provide informal childcare?
Yes, but this form of childcare should only be used when no other methods are available. Children should not be cared for outside of their home if they are ill, or by anyone who is ill. Adults dropping off children for childcare should not enter someone else’s home.
Are clubs for children allowed to run?
No. With the exception of very limited exceptions, mixing between households is not permitted during this period (childcare and play running over the school holidays is an exception). This includes all indoor and outdoor gatherings, including these sorts of activities. It reflects that people should not be exercising with people they do not live with.
Will libraries be open?
No, libraries will be closed during the period of the lockdown.
