Secondary school pupils could be sent home testing kits before they return to the classroom under new plans being drawn up by the Government.
Students may have to test themselves for coronavirus using lateral flow tests as ministers at the Department for Education prepare detailed plans for a phased return to the classroom, The Telegraph reports.
It comes a month after questions were raised about the reliability of the tests following an article in the British Medical Journal which claimed the tests were not sensitive enough and not good at detecting the virus in people without symptoms.
Last year the Government asked schools to prepare their buildings for on-site mass testing but headteachers and union members were quick to call the proposals inoperable .
HEADTEACHERS and union members have said plans to mass test pupils in January will be inoperable after the proposals were announced on the day before the end of term. Schools North East, which represent 1,150 schools in the region, said “exhausted” staff needed a proper break over Christmas, and called for the Government to provide the resources necessary to carry out the testing. Education unions have also written to headteachers to say they will receive their full support if they decide they cannot carry out tests at the start of term. On Thursday, the Government announced secondary school and college pupils’ return to class in England will be staggered to help schools roll out mass testing of students.