Key worker list issued by the Government
Parents urged to contact their child's school if they need to send them in next week
As schools rush to make preparations before they close this afternoon, the Government has released its list of key worker professions.
On Wednesday the Prime Minister announced that schools across the UK would close from Friday afternoon, after its latest scientific advice said that children should stay at home to limit the chance of the virus spreading.
However, it went on to ask schools to remain open for children who “absolutely need to attend”.
These include children who are supported by social workers, those with safeguarding and welfare needs, ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children, those with EHC (education, health and care) plans and children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response.
The list of parents who have ‘critical’ jobs is listed below in full and includes health care professionals, emergency services, armed forces personnel and journalists.
The majority of West Berkshire and North Hampshire schools are currently asking parents to contact them as soon as possible today if they will need to send their children to school next week. The schools are currently planning how they will support these children going forward.
If your child’s school is already closed, however, the government has said you should contact the local education authority. You can find your local council contact here. West Berkshire Council contacts can be found here.
In a statement on its website, the Government said: “It is important to underline that schools, colleges and other educational establishments remain safe places for children.
“But the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.”
The Government urged parents, even if their jobs are included in the key workers list, to keep their children at home if at all possible, but reminded them not to rely on grandparents or friends and family with underlying health conditions for childcare if they should be self-isolating.
The critical services list in full
Health and social care
This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.
This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.
Key public services
This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.
Local and national government
This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.
Food and other necessary goods
This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).
Public safety and national security
This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.
Transport
This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.
Utilities, communication and financial services
This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.