Department for Education comment - NAHT survey

A Government spokesperson said:

“The latest official statistics show that 99.9% of schools are open with the vast majority of pupils attending.

“Where staff or children have symptoms of COVID-19, testing capacity is the highest it has ever been, and we are working to provide further priority access for teachers.

“Schools only need to identify close contacts and ask them to self-isolate if and when a case is confirmed from a positive test result. Close contacts of confirmed cases must follow the full 14 day self-isolation period and should only seek a test if they have symptoms.”

Further information:

• If a positive case is confirmed in a school, swift action is being taken to ask those who have been in close contact to self-isolate, and the DfE’s advice line Public Health England’s local health protection teams continue to support and advise schools in this situation.
• Children who are self-isolating will receive remote education. We will continue to work with schools to ensure all appropriate steps are taken to keep pupils and staff safe.
• Anyone with symptoms should follow self-isolation guidance, and access remote education provision in coordination with their school or college.
• Anyone who is self-isolating as a result of being a close contact of a confirmed case, but does not have symptoms should not request a test. This includes if that case was identified in school or college.
• Once self-isolation periods conclude, education settings must not require confirmation of negative test results before admitting or re-admitting students or staff.
• Settings should only contact their local health protection team if they have had confirmation of a positive test result. General enquiries should be directed to the DfE Coronavirus Helpline on 0800 046 8687.

Home testing kits:

• The home testing kits supplied to schools and colleges are only for those who develop the symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) and face significant barriers to accessing a test.
• In particular, these tests kits will help symptomatic staff who test negative, and are not close contacts of confirmed cases, to get back to work as soon as they feel well enough.
• We have emailed all schools and colleges with details of how to access additional test kits via an online portal that opened on 16 September.
• Home testing kits will be supplied in boxes of 10, with one box provided per 1,000 students. A new order may be placed 21 days after the last order was dispatched.

NAHT PRESS NOTICE

More than four in five schools have children isolating because they can’t access a covid test, new survey shows

Today (Friday 18 September 2020), school leaders’ union NAHT has released the initial results of a survey of its members showing how problems accessing tests for covid-19 is affecting schools and children.

The data collected from 736 school leaders over the last 24 hours shows that:

1. 82% of schools have children currently not attending because they cannot access a test to rule out covid-19, and 87% have children currently not attending because they are waiting for their test results.

2. 45% of schools have staff currently not at work because they cannot access a test to rule out covid-19, and 60% have staff currently staying home because they are waiting for their test results.

3. 94% of schools have children who have had to stay at home due to suspected or confirmed cases of covid-19 this term, and 78% have staff who have had to self-isolate at all this term.

4. Of those schools who have had to send pupils home due to suspected or confirmed cases of covid-19 this term, 70% have sent home individual pupils only. 7% have had to send home whole classes, 5% reported sending home whole year groups, and 4% sent home small groups of pupils (smaller than a class). Only 0.3% reported having to close their school.

5. 14% of respondents have had confirmed cases of covid-19 in their schools since the start of term.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, last week wrote to the Prime Minister with mounting concerns about the impact the lack of access to covid-19 tests is having on schools, warning that the situation is becoming increasingly disruptive and unsustainable. Today’s figures add weight to those concerns.

Mr Whiteman says: “Tests for covid-19 need to be readily available for everyone so that pupils and staff who get negative results can get back into school quickly. But we are hearing the same thing repeatedly from our members across the country – chaos is being caused by the inability of staff and families to successfully get tested when they display symptoms. This means schools are struggling with staffing, have children missing school, and ultimately that children’s education is being needlessly disrupted.

“The government assured us that testing would be ready for schools reopening – it was one of their own key safety requirements to have in place to enable children and teachers to return. It is in no way unpredictable or surprising that the demand for covid-19 tests would spike when schools reopened more widely this term. And yet the system is in chaos. The government has failed schools and children. It is unacceptable for this to happen when schools have put so much effort into getting their part of the plan right, and when pupils have had to endure so much uncertainty and disruption already.”