The Guidance acknowledges that early years and primary age children cannot be expected to adhere to social distancing and remain 2 metres apart from each other and staff.
In order to reduce contact between people as much as possible, the Government is recommending that pupils and members of staff only mix in small, consistent groups and that these small groups stay away from other groups. For primary schools, groups should be no more than 15 pupils and one teacher (and, if required, a teaching assistant). Where it is possible for pupils to be kept 2 metres apart, they should be. For example, classroom layouts may need to be changed to enable desks to be positioned as far apart as possible. Groups should also use the same classrooms and desks every day and these should be cleaned thoroughly after the end of each day.
To minimise the risk of groups mixing, schools should consider timetable changes. For example, staggering break and lunch times or school start and finish times. Schools could also consider placing a divider down the middle of corridors and implementing a one-way system although brief, transitory contact between groups, such as passing in the corridor, is deemed low risk in the Guidance.
If these small groups cannot be achieved, for example, if there are not enough classrooms to accommodate the number of small groups, schools should discuss this with the local authority.