Special Schools and SEND provision have been asked to keep schools and provisions open to all pupils.  SEND staff would like to fulfill this requirement as much as far as possible to support our most vulnerable pupils and best serve our communities.

It is not possible for us to effectively meet the educational and social needs of SEND pupils whilst observing social distancing.  Many of us are providing intimate care and physical intervention on a daily basis.  We have been doing this since the start of the pandemic in March.  We continue to do this despite the serious risk to our health and that of our pupils.  In one Special School in south west London alone there were 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases amongst staff between the 7th and 11th December 2020 resulting in the closure of the school to all pupils.

We would like the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to urgently reclassify SEND School staff as frontline health and social care workers as we are at a comparably increased personal risk of exposure to infection with COVID-19 and of transmitting that infection to susceptible and vulnerable pupils in SEND schools and settings.  This would allow us to receive vaccinations as soon as possible.