Nursery World - Coronavirus: All PVI nurseries to be sent home-testing kits

All staff at private, voluntary and independent nurseries and pre-schools will have access to rapid Covid tests to use twice weekly at home, the Department for Education has confirmed.

Private and voluntary nurseries have to access lateral flow tests themselves by sending staff to community testing sites, unlike schools and maintained nurseries that are sent test kits

The DfE has told sector organisations that tests will be available from 22 March.

Previously, only maintained nurseries and early years settings linked to schools had access to home asymptomatic lateral flow testing.

All other private and voluntary settings were advised to access priority testing at community test centres, often miles away, or only open during working hours.

The DfE said this plan builds on the testing already available to maintained nursery schools and school-based nurseries.

However, the plan does not currently include childminders, who will still only have access to community testing. The DfE said it was continuing to work with colleagues across government to review the testing approach available for childminders.

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