More than 375,000 pupils in England are currently are out of school for Covid-related reasons, an increase of more than 130,000 in a week. Not being at school is very disruptive for children’s education and their social development, and also for their families. The government is therefore considering other options for managing children in whom there has been a Covid-19 case in their school bubble. This could include daily testing rather than exclusion from school. If the policy for children does change, it is likely to start in the new school term in September. Will there be regular testing in schools even without any positive cases? The current policy of testing secondary school children twice each week is likely to continue in the new school year in September. This will be the case even in schools where there are no cases. What will happen someone in my child’s class tests positive? Currently, everyone in the class and the wider school bubble is excluded from school
Updates from Imperial College London's Professor of Primary Care & Public Health