testing | Schools Week

Longer days and early appointments on cards as schools gear up for ‘mammoth’ Covid testing effort

School leaders are exploring staggered starts and extended days to ease the “mammoth logistical task” of mass Covid testing returning pupils. Boris Johnson announced on Monday that schools would begin reopening from March 8, with secondaries testing pupils three times on-site in their first two weeks back. Some leaders said that larger schools would struggle, […]

Secondary schools can start testing pupils on-site before March 8, DfE confirms

Secondary schools and colleges will be allowed to start testing pupils on-site before March 8, the Department for Education has confirmed. Increasing numbers of leaders have been calling for clarity on the matter since the announcement earlier this week that secondary school pupils will be tested four times – the first three on-site – when […]

Covid testing: DfE confirms arrangements for extra school funding

The Department for Education has set out how it will allocate funding to schools to pay for Covid testing of pupils and staff. A £78 million funding pot was pledged in December, but further details about how funding would be allocated were scarce. The DfE was also forced to pledge to reimburse schools that stood […]

DfE confirms schools can reclaim lost cash after Covid testing funding change

Schools that could lose thousands of pounds because of a change in the way funding for Covid testing is allocated will be able to claim the cash back, the Department for Education has said. The clarification comes after a Schools Week investigation found a shift by the DfE to only fund testing costs based on […]

Army ‘on standby’ to provide testing support – but most won’t be on-site

Armed forces personnel will be “on standby” to provide “in-person support” with mass testing of pupils next term, but most of the 1,500 people assigned will only provide support and phone advice. The government announced earlier this month that secondary schools will be provided with millions of rapid-response lateral flow tests next month to test […]

Covid-19: Mass testing planned in London, Kent and Essex secondaries

The government is rolling out mass coronavirus testing in secondary schools in the worst-affected areas of London, Kent and Essex, the health secretary has announced. Matt Hancock told the Downing Street press briefing today that the government had “decided to put in place an immediate plan for testing all secondary school age children in the […]

Covid-19 winter plan: What does it mean for schools?

Education settings will be among those to trial regular Covid-19 testing as an alternative to self-isolation for those who have been in contact with confirmed Covid-19 cases, the government has said. The prime minister this afternoon launched his Covid-19 winter plan, which set out how restrictions will work from December 2, when the country comes […]

Teachers fifth on priority list for testing, but no place for school pupils

Teachers with Covid-19 symptoms will be fifth on the government’s priority list for testing, it has been announced. But school pupils do not feature anywhere on the list, despite a pledge by ministers that they too would be given priority. We are continuing to improve the testing system to ensure teaching staff can get priority […]