Mass testing to be rolled out at secondary schools in January

All pupils and teachers will have access to weekly rapid Covid antigen tests regardless of whether they show symptoms or not

The announcement came as ministers battled to retain control of schools in the capital
The announcement came as ministers battled to retain control of schools in the capital Credit: Ben Birchall /PA

Mass testing will be rolled out at secondary schools across the country in January and pupils will no longer have to self-isolate if a member of their bubble tests positive, the Education Secretary has announced.

All pupils and teachers will have access to weekly rapid Covid antigen tests regardless of whether they show symptoms or not, and this will be increased to daily tests if they have come into contact with someone with coronavirus.

The announcement came as ministers battled to retain control of schools in the capital. On Tuesday Waltham Forest council continued to defy the Government’s edict that schools should remain open for all pupils until the end of term.

But Greenwich Council, which was the first in London to advise schools to close their doors at the end of Monday and move teaching online for the rest of the week, backed down after the Department for Education (DfE) launched legal proceedings against it.

On Tuesday night, Islington Council leader Richard Watts said he had "no choice" but to ask schools to remain open following threats of legal action from the Government. 

Downing Street has insisted that keeping schools open is a “national priority”. But there is mounting concern about the steep rise in cases among secondary school age children and the fact that as many as one in three could be asymptomatic and spreading the virus unknowingly.

Gavin Williamson said that the huge expansion of tests in schools is a “milestone moment” adding: “Testing on this scale brings real benefits to education, it means more children, teachers and staff can stay in their classes in schools and colleges without the need to self-isolate.”

He said that mass testing would be rolled out to primary schools over the course of the spring term. Pupils who have come into close contact with someone who has coronavirus will not have to self-isolate if they agree to being tested every day for seven days.

Military medics have been deployed to secondary schools over the past two months to assist with pilots for rapid Covid antigen trials, which ministers declared had been a success. The lateral flow tests do not need to be sent to a lab for analysis so can provide results in around 15 minutes.

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Unions welcomed the announcement of mass testing as a potential “game changer,” but said it is “outrageous” that headteachers are expected to prepare for it during the final week of term.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said it could have an effect on parents’ confidence about sending their children to school this week.

“This confirms to parents in a really dramatic way that children can transmit the virus and that cases are high in schools,” he said.

“On that basis there will be parents who think ‘I will not run the risk with grandpa at Christmas, I will keep them off school this week’. The fact that they will do mass tests in January will be another factor that points parents in this direction.”

Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner, said that she “can understand” if parents feel they would rather keep their children at home this week to avoid infecting grandparents over Christmas.

“These are all valid issues,” she said. “But I believe they can be managed without closing schools altogether, if we put enough will and resources into it.”

Earlier this week the Education Secretary started legal proceedings against Greenwich Council as it doubled down on its threat to take local authorities to court over early school closures.

Mr Williamson warned the south London council on Monday night that unless they withdraw their letter to schools by 10am on Tuesday morning he would seek a High Court injunction.  If the council still failed to comply with this, it would be held in contempt of court. 

On Tuesday. Danny Thorpe, leader of Greenwich Council, announced a U-turn saying: “With Covid-19 cases rising rapidly in the borough, I cannot agree that this is the correct choice for our schools.

“However, I also cannot justify the use of public funds to fight the decision in the courts. Consequently, I have no choice but to ask our schools to keep their doors open to all students rather than just continuing with online learning.”

DfE officials have written to Waltham Forest council asking it to back down, but so far it has not buckled.

On Monday, Waltham Forest council recommended that all schools should move to online learning “as soon as possible,” with Clare Coghill, the Labour council leader, warning that the situation is “very serious”.

Redbridge Council stopped short of advising schools to close but on Tuesday night said it would support them if they decided to move learning from Wednesday. In a statement on its website, the council said its education service had written to schools on Monday offering support should they decide to close "due to staff and pupil absences making continued opening unviable".

It said schools had been put under "a huge strain" following an increase of Covid-19 cases in the local area.

French schoolchildren will be allowed to skip school on Thursday and Friday so families can self-isolate in the run-up to Christmas as Europe tightens the screw over the festive period.

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