ASCL leader Geoff Barton today warned that the work of schools
and colleges in reopening to all students is being undermined by
widespread problems in accessing Covid-19 tests.
Within hours of inviting feedback on the issue in an email to
ASCL members yesterday afternoon, more than 200 school and
college leaders in England reported difficulties with the system.
Many leaders said that staff and pupils were experiencing
problems in booking tests locally and were frequently being
directed to test centres long distances away, including Inverness
and Aberdeen. In addition, several said that home-testing kits
were either unavailable or slow to arrive.
The difficulty in accessing tests meant that pupils and staff
with symptoms were having to self-isolate at home for longer than
might be necessary. This was further disrupting the education of
the children concerned following the lockdown since March, and
where members of staff were away from school, it was putting
pressure on staffing cover.
Schools and colleges, often with more than 1,000 students and
staff, have each received a government supply of just 10
home-testing kits “to be offered in the exceptional circumstance
where an individual may have barriers to accessing testing
elsewhere.” These are rapidly being depleted.
Even when tests have taken place this was not the end of the
problems. Some leaders reported that it was taking three days or
more for test results to be returned, and when there were
positive Covid cases, a number said they had experienced
difficulty in getting through to local health protection teams
for guidance and support.
One school leader said: “I have approx 10 pupils who are at home
with symptoms all of whom are waiting for tests. Most have only
been able to get postal tests, none have been able to get tests
locally within seven days. Potentially I could have a number of
positive cases linked to my school and not know it.”
Another said: “In our area we have had staff and students being
asked to travel over 200 miles for a test and being told no home
tests are available. This adds to the time staff are absent,
putting more pressure on their colleagues and for some staff and
students these sorts of distances are not realistic when they
feel unwell or due to the very limited public transport in this
area.”
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said: “We are very concerned that the fantastic
work of schools and colleges in putting in place a raft of safety
measures in order to fully reopen for the autumn term is at risk
of being derailed by a lack of capacity in the test and trace
system.
“This is not a criticism of the health workers involved, who are
having to operate under great pressure, and are doing their very
best in difficult circumstances. Our frustration is with the
government which has failed to live up to its promise to ensure
that the test and trace system is able to meet the level of
demand that it must have been perfectly obvious would be needed.
“Even now, the Health Secretary seems to be in denial, choosing
to blame people for seeking tests when they are not eligible,
rather than addressing the problem.
“Staff and pupils must be able to obtain tests immediately and
easily, so that if they are clear of the virus they can return to
school as soon as possible, and if they are positive then the
appropriate action can be taken to contact and isolate close
contacts. If this does not happen the system will come under
increasing strain and the health risks will grow.
“Having spent the summer working extremely hard to put in place
safety measures, school and college leaders feel utterly let down
by the fact that within days of term starting it is immediately
apparent that there are significant problems in accessing Covid
tests.
“We appreciate the challenges of providing a test and trace
system on this scale, but this was always a prerequisite for
being able to reopen schools and colleges and keep them open.
This situation simply has to improve, and it has to improve
quickly.”
