School isolation rules likely to be scrapped in autumn

The Department for Education has confirmed plans for more testing instead

Author: Chris MaskeryPublished 29th Jun 2021
Last updated 29th Jun 2021

Schools in England may not have to force pupils to isolate after coronavirus cases, as the government looks at getting rid of the rules from this autumn.

The Department for Education has confirmed that school isolation rules could be brought to an end with ministers writing to secondary schools asking them to prepare to potentially replace isolation rules with testing.

There are growing concerns about the rising number of children who have to quarantine because they are the contacts of confirmed cases.

Testing to replace isolating

A spokesman from the Department for Education said:

“We are provisionally asking secondary schools and colleges to prepare to offer on-site testing when students return for the new academic year, so that schools are ready in case it is needed to keep as many children as possible in face-to-face education.

“We will provide further details about the approach to protective measures and test and trace in education from September in due course.”

On Monday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he has asked for “fresh advice” on the issue, adding that the policy is “having a huge knock-on impact” on children’s education.

“I will hopefully be able to say more on this as soon as possible,” he said.

A review into ending self-isolation for school pupils

Schools minister Nick Gibb said the Government is carrying out a review into using testing to end self-isolation for school pupils in bubbles.

There are similar moves to address the issue in Wales, where education minister Jeremy Miles suggested on Monday classroom bubbles would be scrapped after the summer after he told a press conference a new national framework for schools would look at removing the staggering of the school day for learners.

And Scotland has seen a sharp rise in pupils who are absent from school during June, with the number almost quadrupling since the start of the month.

"School bubbles and self-isolation should end soon"

The news came as the new Children’s Commissioner for England said bubble arrangements and self-isolation for school pupils should end soon.

Dame Rachel de Souza said there is an urgent need for children to get back to normal as lockdown restrictions have been a “real trauma” for many young people.

Currently children have to self-isolate for 10 days if another pupil in their bubble tests positive for coronavirus.

It has resulted in a sharp rise in pupils off school for Covid-related reasons, with the latest official figures showing 239,000 children in England missing classes – as the numbers trebled in the space of a week.

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