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<p>Public health advice continues to be that testing in education and childcare settings
is no longer needed. Most infectious diseases in education and childcare settings
can be managed by following the advice in UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) updated
health protection in education and childcare settings guidance. Students and staff
should follow UKHSA’s advice for those who have symptoms.</p><p>As individuals are
now mixing in an otherwise open society, regular testing within school and colleges
is no longer as effective as it once was. Instead, the most effective protection against
severe disease from COVID-19 for everyone, including those at higher risk from COVID-19,
is to get vaccinated.</p><p>Although settings may still have some unused test kits
in stock, they should not continue to hand these out to staff or students or dispose
of them (unless they have reached their expiry date).</p><p>The department are currently
working with UKHSA to explore the options for removal of testing resources no longer
required and repurpose or redeploy them as much as possible based on clinical need
prioritisation.</p><p>In the meantime, settings should retain any surplus stock and
may wish to note this in their contingency plans. The department has published emergency
planning and responce guidance for education and childcare settings here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings</a>.</p><p>The
department is also aware that some schools and colleges have reported finding the
recruitment of invigilators more challenging this year. We are working with exam boards
to monitor the risk and have supported recruitment by sharing The Exams Office’s vacancy
map with pools of invigilators like parents and higher education students.</p><p>The
Joint Council for Qualifications has published updated guidance for centres managing
exams in case of invigilator shortage. This includes information about varying start
times; alternative sites; invigilation ratios; use of subject teachers as invigilators;
addressing challenges for individual candidates; and remote invigilation.</p><p> </p><p>
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