Head’s concern over pupil testing plan

A senior head teacher says asking schools to roll out mass testing of pupils is “like asking a nurse to teach A-level Shakespeare”.

The government has announced that secondary school pupils’ return to class in England will be staggered in the first week of January to help head teachers co-ordinate Covid-19 tests.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said the tests would be administered by volunteers and agency staff, rather than teachers.

Volunteers carrying out rapid Covid-19 tests in schools in January will not need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check because they will be “supervised” by staff.

But Alan Brookes, chairman of the Kent Association of Headteachers, said the staggered start and testing demands amounted to “an absolute nightmare”.

He raised concerns about a lack of staff to oversee testing, schools not having enough space to deliver tests and the logistics of recruiting volunteers. He said there were question marks over whether non-professional people should be administering tests and whether parents would give their consent.

He added: “Schools are desperate for mass testing to come in. We would welcome it with open arms but being asked to do it ourselves is like asking a nurse to teach A-level Shakespeare.

“To get to the end of term and be told ‘just sort out mass testing by January 4’ will be the final straw for many.”

Schools have been asked to oversee mass testing of pupils from the start of next term