The Department for Education has published briefing points
following the publication of a testing
handbook for secondary schools and colleges on coordinating
rapid testing.
Testing guidance and funding:
- We recognise that we continue to ask a lot of schools and
colleges in delivering rapid testing, but all teachers, staff,
parents and pupils should be assured that we will be supporting
them over the coming weeks.
- Testing is important because staff, students and pupils
without symptoms could still carry the virus and may spread it to
many others. And since schools and colleges are a key part of our
communities, we want to break the chains of transmission and help
reduce the risk as far as possible.
- We are also allocating £78 million in funding to support all
secondary schools and colleges with testing costs incurred.
- Funding will be provided to secondary schools and colleges
based on their size. For example, a mainstream secondary in inner
London, with 1000 pupils and staff will receive approx. £20k. A
mainstream secondary outside London, with 2000 pupils and staff
will receive approx. £28k.
- They will be able to use the funding as works best for them
to be able to deliver the testing. The funding will be available
to cover relevant staffing costs, regardless of the number of
volunteers schools use and PPE equipment will also be directly
provided.
- As promised, we have now published further logistical
guidance so those secondary schools and colleges that want to,
can be ready to start testing their students from the beginning
of the new term.
- This walks secondary schools and colleges through key
information they need for running testing in schools and colleges
and provides advice on setting up a safe testing site, running
the testing site, staffing and resource requirements as well as
processing and recording test results.
- We know that every setting is different and so the guidance
is flexible so that testing sites it can be adapted to
accommodate other things happening in each individual school or
college space.
- The first deliveries of up to 1000 starter test kits, with
tests and PPE, will arrive at every secondary school and college
on 04 January so that they are ready to go as soon as possible,
with further replenishment deliveries throughout the week.
Previous information on testing:
- We are offering a round of testing to all secondary schools
and colleges in England to test students from the first week of
January.
- The testing will help to identify the one in three who have
the virus but do not have symptoms, so could be spreading the
disease unknowingly.
- This will help to deliver on our national priority of keeping
education as safe as possible and open for all, as well as help
fight the spread of the virus.
- It builds on the incredible work schools and colleges have
done to be Covid-secure throughout the autumn term, and will help
to reassure students, parents and teachers about returning to
school and college.
- It also follows the government’s recent announcement that
every secondary school and college in England will have access to
rapid testing from January. All staff in secondary schools and
colleges, as well as special schools and alternative provision,
will be eligible for weekly rapid tests as part of an initial
rollout, and students will be eligible for daily testing if they
are identified as a close contact of someone who has tested
positive.
- State-funded secondaries had an average of 24 pupils
isolating per confirmed coronavirus case on 10 December – which
is what we’re aiming to drastically cut down through daily
testing of close contacts.
- Initially testing will be provided for all secondary
pupils/students and staff as they return from the holidays.
- After the initial mass testing, all school / college staff
will be able to have routine testing once a week; pupils/students
and staff will be able to do ‘serial testing’ if one of their
contacts within school tests positive. If close contacts agree to
be tested each day for 7 days, and they test negative each time,
they will be allowed to remain in school/college that day. We
expect that the vast majority of children will self-swab.
- This is a phased approach, starting with secondary age
settings (staff, pupils and students in schools and colleges in
Year 7 and older), with plans to extend to primary schools
thereafter.
- Students in exam year groups, vulnerable children and
children of key workers will all attend school or college in
person from the start of term and these groups should get the
first testing slots. All students in primary, special and
alternative provision will also return to in person tuition from
the start of term.
- Secondary schools and colleges will operate a staggered
return, offering all non-exam year groups full-time remote
education, as close as possible to that which students would get
in class, during the first week of term, with face-to-face
education for all starting on 11 January.
