Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced he is scrapping rules which force large numbers of pupils to stay at home if just one of them is infected with Covid-19.
He told the House of Commons he was ending the use of so-called "bubbles" in schools once other lockdown rules end on July 19.
Mr Williamson told the Commons: “We recognise that the system of bubbles and isolation is causing disruption to many children’s education. That is why we’ll be ending bubbles and transferring contact tracing to the NHS Test and Trace system for early years settings, schools and colleges.”
Read more: Self-isolation rules are changing
The bubble policy meant 623,000 children nationwide missed school last week.
The Education Secretary defended the policy, saying it made sense in order to control the spread of the virus before people were widely vaccinated.
But he told MPs: “I do not think it is acceptable that children should face greater restrictions over and above those of wider society, especially since they have given up so much to keep older generations safe during this pandemic.”
The Education Secretary, MP for South Staffordshire, also highlighted an announcement made earlier by Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who said under-18s will no longer have to self-isolate if they come into contact with someone infected by Covid-19. Instead, they only need to isolate if they actually test positive for the coronavirus themselves.
In other changes, schools will no longer need to stagger their closing and opening times, he said. This policy was introduced to prevent children congregating at school gates.
He told MPs: “Schools and colleges may of course continue with these measures until the end of the summer term if they so wish.”
On self-isolation for close contacts of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, the Education Secretary said: “In education settings, all other existing measures – including guidance on isolation of contacts – will stay in place until the end of this term, in line with isolation rules for the rest of the population as more adults are vaccinated.
“Settings will continue to have a role in working with health protection teams in case of a local outbreak.
“Where necessary, some measures may need to be reintroduced.
“From August 16, those under the age of 18 will no longer be required to self-isolate if they are contacted by NHS Test and Trace as a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case.”
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