Schools: Regular Covid-19 testing for staff and older pupils announced
Expansion of testing to other staff in primary and pre-school settings will be rolled out in later phases.
Last updated 15th Mar 2021
Regular testing in schools is but a few weeks away.
The Health and Education Ministers say departmental officials will be liaising with the education sector to discuss operational preparation and delivery, with a view to rolling out the programme in the coming weeks.
Around one in three people who are infected with Covid-19 have no symptoms, so asymptomatic testing is being ramped up.
The Stormont Ministers have revealed that initially, all post-primary staff (including teaching and support staff) and older students in Years 12-14 in schools and in Education Other Than at School (EOTAS) centres will be included in this programme of regular testing, which will use Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests.
Expansion of testing to other staff in primary and pre-school settings will be rolled out in later phases.
Health Minister Robin Swann said: “I am delighted to announce the expansion of our regular testing programme for staff and older pupils. This testing is important as an additional measure alongside the range of existing safety measures in place to help ensure the safety of staff and pupils in schools.
“Whilst the use of LFD tests is important as an additional measure, a negative LFD test result does not enable an individual to drop their guard and people should not change their behaviours.
“My Department is continuing to work with partners in government and industry on further expansion of our programme of regular asymptomatic testing which, alongside our vaccination and contact tracing programmes, will help balance the scales in our favour of success in the battle against Covid-19.”
Testing for schools’ staff and pupils will be twice weekly three to four days apart using LFD tests. Older students in years 12-14 are included as prevalence of Covid-19 tends to be higher among this group.
Education Minister Peter Weir said: “Today’s announcement is very welcome news and will provide a significant level of reassurance to schools, pupils and parents alike. Initially, testing will be available to all staff in post-primary schools and pupils in years 12 to 14.
“The roll out of this testing programme will provide reassurance for pupils and teachers that the risk of large groups of exam year classes having to isolate during this important period, will be considerably reduced.
“It has always been my preference that all pupils should be in the classroom to benefit from face to face teaching and I welcome the plan to roll out testing for Year 12-14 students as soon as practicable.”