Williamson wants to stop sending school bubbles home
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says he wants the school "bubble" system in England removed as soon as possible, as rising numbers of pupils are being sent home to isolate.
This could happen alongside the next step of the roadmap for unlocking the country from the pandemic, he told MPs.
But Labour warned that schools needed immediate action to avoid "chaos" in the last weeks of term.
Official figures this week showed over 375,000 children have been sent home.
A Downing Street spokesman declined to say whether bubbles would be scrapped, either in September or as part of changes to restrictions potentially from 19 July.
Head teachers' leader Paul Whiteman said schools needed to be told how "alternative arrangements would work".
On Wednesday the UK reported another 26,068 Covid-19 cases - the highest daily figure since January 29.
Another 14 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were also reported.
Responding to an urgent question from Labour, Mr Williamson said he recognised the "frustration of parents and pupils who may feel like they're being asked to isolate unnecessarily".
The numbers sent home from school for Covid-related reasons have quadrupled this month - but among those having to isolate only about 4% are confirmed cases, with most sent home because of a potential contact at school.
"I want to see these restrictions, including bubbles, removed as quickly as possible," said the education secretary, facing warnings from MPs about an escalating problem with pupils being sent home.
This would be part of the "next step" in the process of unlocking from the pandemic, he told MPs, which under current plans could be 19 July, close to the end of the summer term.
Mr Williamson said he was working with the health secretary on changing the response to Covid in schools.
This could include more testing - and a pilot scheme has been using daily testing in response to Covid cases, rather than a wider group of pupils having to isolate.
The prime minister's official spokesman said there was no requirement for an entire bubble to have to be sent home, but only those in "close contact".
But there were calls to keep bubbles and isolation from Unison, representing school support staff. "Self-isolation is one of the proven ways to keep cases under control," said the union's head of education, Jon Richards.
Disruption
Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green said a new approach quickly needed to be introduced.
"Action is needed now to protect the final weeks of learning this year," she said, warning that "changing restrictions for five days at the end of term will create more chaos for schools and families".
"Schools, parents and pupils need urgent clarity. If bubbles will end on 19 July, schools need to know now so they can plan," said Ms Green.
Analysis:
By Sean Coughlan, BBC News education correspondent
It was striking how MPs from all sides seemed so concerned about the surge in pupils being sent home from school.
"We cannot allow this situation to continue," said James Daly, Conservative MP for Bury North, who said 2,000 pupils were currently isolating in his local area.
Labour's Christian Matheson, City of Chester MP, cited a constituent whose child had been sent home on three separate occasions.
There were calls for a change in how Covid rules are applied, because among the 375,000 pupils sent home across England, 96% are not confirmed cases but only isolating as a precaution.
These figures could get even more alarming in the weeks ahead, with more confusion for parents and schools and a growing political headache for ministers.
Back in March, when pupils returned and attendance levels were high, pupils being sent home might have felt like a problem fading away.
Now it's threatening a chaotic end to such a disrupted school year - and a reminder that adapting to Covid is going to be here for the long term.
Conservative Caroline Nokes asked for reassurance that "as we look to both 19 July and the end of the summer term that there can be no question of a return to bubbles and self-isolation when children return in the autumn".
Mr Williamson said: "Our direction is very clear about lifting the restrictions and ensuring that children are not in the situation where they have to bubble.
"It's very much part of the course of this road map - and we will be very much expecting that children would not be facing that in September."
Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper said "parents are at their wits' end" with children having to self-isolate.
And there were warnings of a "generation of ghost children" from Robert Halfon, chair of the education select committee, who called for action before the end of term to stop so many young people missing school.
Tory MP Esther McVey called on Mr Williamson to put a stop to "self-isolation madness" in schools.
"Last week, 375,000 pupils were off school for self-isolation and there has been a 40% increase in anti-depressants being prescribed to under 17-year-olds.
"Given that children are extremely unlikely to suffer serious ill health as a result of catching Covid, and given the damage being done to their education and their mental health, isn't it time we stopped this self-isolation madness and get all pupils back into classrooms where they belong?"
Testing in the longer term
Asked if he intended Covid testing in schools to continue in the long term, Mr Williamson said he hoped to "move away" from it at the earliest opportunity.
Conservative Mark Harper asked: "Given we've now vaccinated all of those adults at risk of being seriously ill from Covid, is he really suggesting, given that Covid is going to be endemic, that for the rest of time we're going to be testing our school children on a regular basis?
Mr Williamson replied: "We do want to see schools return to normality and we don't want children to feel as if there's an extra layer of things that they have to do, that we as adults don't have to do."
He said testing had been an "incredibly important tool" in helping schools to return and that the issue was "under review".
"Much longer-term do I see testing as something that we expect children to continuously do always in the future? No I don't, and I ideally want to move away from that at the earliest and most realistic possible stage."
July 01, 2021 at 04:08AM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-57664192
Labels: BBC News
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