You may be aware that yesterday, the Prime Minister set out the next phase of the government’s Covid-19 response, ‘Living with Covid-19’.

The DfE emailed schools and colleges last night with more details on what this means for education settings. With immediate effect, the government has removed the guidance for staff and students in most education and childcare settings to undertake twice-weekly asymptomatic testing. All staff and students will continue to be able to access test kits from their local pharmacy or online. Anyone with symptoms should take a PCR test, stay at home and follow government guidance if positive. People who have tested positive will continue to be advised to stay at home for five full days and then receive two negative test results on consecutive days before returning to their workplace or setting.

From Thursday 24 February, the government will remove the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test. However, adults and children who test positive will continue to be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for at least five full days, and then continue to follow the guidance until they have received two negative test results on consecutive days.