Addressing the House of Commons yesterday evening, the newly appointed health secretary Sajid Javid said he had ‘asked for fresh advice' on the requirement. He went on to say that ‘there is a pilot programme in some local authorities at the moment where tests are used instead of isolation’. However, he said he ‘wanted to go further’ and would ‘hopefully be able to say more on the subject as soon as possible’.
Whether the removal of the requirement would also include children attending early years settings is unclear. Nursery World has contacted the Department for Education for clarification.
It comes amid growing calls from educators and parents to end the requirement, after Government statistics revealed 172,000 pupils in England were at home self-isolating due to potential contact with a Covid case, as of 17 June. Of these children, 2.7 per cent were primary school pupils.
Currently, children within a school year group, known as a ‘bubble’, must self-isolate for 10 days if one of their classmates tests positive for the virus.
England's Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, said there was an 'urgent need' for children to get back to normal as lockdown restrictions have been traumatic for many young people.
Similarly, the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said it would welcome a change to the current system of all close contacts having to isolate, which is 'disrupting children’s development and wellbeing.'
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the NDNA, said, 'We have seen the numbers of cases in early years settings double suddenly in the first two weeks of June, largely following community transmission. It’s a huge concern as more nurseries have to close rooms or their entire nursery as more staff and children are having to self-isolate.
'Any plan to remove or ease the requirement to self-isolate would be very welcome but must include early years settings. Policy makers must look at other options. Our youngest children have suffered enough. Children and staff safety is an utmost priority for nurseries and they have been managing this extremely well throughout this pandemic.'
Reports suggest adults that are double vaccinated will no longer need to quarantine if they come into contact with a positive Covid case. Instead, they will have to take daily lateral flow tests, with a negative test allowing them to leave the house.
Advice from SAGE
Just hours before the health secretary’s address to the House of Commons, professor Russell Viner, a member of SAGE, called for a ‘re-think’ on the school ‘bubble’ isolation policy.
He told BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme, ‘I think we need to re-think all our rules around schools as we move into the new school year. If all adults are vaccinated and can move freely, we have to think carefully about the restrictions we put on the one part of society, children, that won’t be vaccinated. We need to look at the evidence.’
Asked if he was talking about getting rid of bubbles for the new academic year, he said, ‘No, not quite. I’m not saying that.’
Wales
Meanwhile, schools in Wales are expected to be able to make their own decisions about Covid rules from September.
Speaking at the Welsh Government press conference, education minister Jeremy Miles appeared to suggest that schools and councils will be able to decide for themselves rules around mask wearing and self-isolation.
Comments
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said, 'With its letter about September, the Department for Education is once again jumping to half-explained ideas with absolutely no consideration of the logistical challenge facing schools and colleges.
'It is important that the data from the recently concluded study of daily testing of contacts as opposed to isolation of close contacts is published quickly and is open to scientific scrutiny; this must happen before any decision is made.
'We should hope for the best - that vaccination of adults solves the problem - but plan for the worst, considering the options around mass testing, vaccination of secondary students, and improvements in ventilation for example.'
He went on to say, 'Gavin Williamson [education secretary] is missing in action. He has nothing to say about ventilation or reinstating masks in classrooms, which are surely the measures he can quickly bring about.
'We all want to see children in school as much as possible and for as long as possible. The education secretary must get a grip on this, and for once engage with the complexity from the outset.'
Education secretary Gavin Williamson said, 'The vast majority of children and young people are in school, but I am aware that sadly a minority are experiencing disruption at the moment.
'Whilst pupils who are self-isolating are being immediately provided with high-quality remote education, we know that the best place for children is in the classroom. That is why I am working with the health secretary, alongside scientists and public health experts, to relax Covid measures in schools in line with wider work to remove restrictions across society.
'I’ll be looking closely at the issues around the need for ongoing isolation of bubbles and the outcomes of the daily contact testing trial, as we consider a new model for keeping children in education.'
The Department for Education says it will set out arrangements for 'protective measures, testing and isolation for the next academic year in due course.'
