Asking parents to test for Covid-19 is a ‘huge ask’

ASKING parents to take responsibility for testing their children regularly for Covid-19 is “fraught with difficulty” and a “huge ask”, the leader of the UK’s largest teaching union has said.

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), warned parents may not want to test their children at home as it could have implications for their paid work. Her warning came after a health minister confirmed the Government is looking at how coronavirus testing of pupils could help the return to school.

Helen Whately said there is “work in progress” after being questioned about reports that parents of secondary school pupils could be asked to test their children at home twice a week.

When asked about the reports that families could be asked to use rapid coronavirus tests on their children when they are back in class, Dr Bousted said: “I think again that is fraught with difficulty as well because I think there’s been a big parental reaction to the notion that they’ve got to swab their children up their noses or down their throats. And of course lots of parents probably will not want to know if their child has got Covid because they will be asymptomatic and that has implications for them being able to work.

“I do think that’s a huge ask and if the Government is going to make that ask of parents – and if it’s going to make any asks to schools in terms of testing – it really has to be very clear about the science on which that is based, because otherwise it will be difficult to make it happen.”

Dr Bousted added that there are “so many challenges” about the accuracy of lateral flow tests that the Government will have to make it “very compelling” in its explanation about why schools and parents should invest their time and resources into doing this.

Education unions met Department for Education (DfE) officials yesterday ahead of Boris Johnson’s announcement of the “road map” out of lockdown which is due next week.

Headteachers’ leaders have suggested the return of secondary school pupils may need to be staggered to allow students to be tested for Covid-19 as they arrive back in class. Ms Whately told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is work being done to look at how testing will help schools come back. But there will be more details set out about that next week.”

Asked about the Telegraph’s report that parents of secondary school pupils will be asked to administer rapid flow tests, Ms Whately said: “I’m not going to get drawn into that. There is work in progress looking at how testing can support schools to come back.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It’s accepted that secondary school pupils might have to return in a slightly staggered way because of the logistics of mass testing. If they come back into the classroom all at the same time, they would have to be taken out of class for the tests to take place by which time they will have already mixed.

“So it would make more sense for them to be brought back into school in phases and tested as they return.”

Mr Barton said this idea was being discussed with the Government, but no final decision had yet been made about what will happen from March 8.