On your marks, get set ... for Covid-compliant sports day

SCHOOL sports days may look a little different this year with sack races replaced by Covid-compliant egg-andspoon contests and parents unlikely to be able to attend events held before June 21.

Egg-and-spoon races are set to get the nod over those of the sack variety due to the relative ease of washing a spoon compared to a hessian sack.

The Department for Education suggests schools hold activities “that don’t share equipment” and use equipment “that can be easily cleaned”.

Some schools holding their sports days in early May, such as St Mary’s Primary School in Paisley, Renfrewshire, have already announced that they will not be allowing parents to attend.

The Department for Education said that parental attendance will be dependent on the lifting of further restrictions at step 3 of the roadmap out of lockdown on May 17. The limit on outdoor social gatherings is set to be increased to 30 people at this point from the current maximum of six.

Spectators are not permitted to attend sporting events on private land, with the exception of adults “supervising under-18s they have a responsibility for” or those “providing care to a person with disabilities”.

However, guidance issued by the Department fo r Digital, Culture, Media & Sport adds that this does not prevent people from viewing recreational sport, if it takes place in a public space and spectators attend in groups of up to six people or two households.

All social distancing restrictions are set to be lifted on June 21, meaning schools holding sports days after this date should, in theory, be free to invite all parents to attend.

The Girls’ School Association said its schools would be sticking to the operational guidance but said it would draw its members’ attention to any changes ‘‘in the lead up to, or after, June 21”.

The current guidance states that outdoor school sports ‘‘should be prioritised where possible, and large indoor spaces used where it is not’’.

If indoor spaces are used, the Department for Education says that schools ‘‘must maximise natural ventilation flows, keep pupils socially distanced and pay scrupulous attention to cleaning and hygiene’’.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Schools can already decide how physical education, sport and physical activity will be provided while following the measures in their system of controls. They can also hold sports days, and can take part in competition with other schools.”