Returning secondary school pupils are being urged to get tested - and vaccinated where possible - to stop coronavirus spreading and minimise disruption to lessons over the autumn term.
Ministers are launching a campaign, backed by an Olympic champion and a TV doctor, to persuade parents, secondary school and college students to take part in voluntary asymptomatic Covid-19 testing.
Attendance advisers are being recruited to work with local authorities and multi-academy trusts where absence rates are higher than average.
It comes as an expert advising the Government warned that music festivals and schools returning will lead to a "significant surge" in Covid-19 infections.
Unions have called for more action to ensure schools are kept as safe as possible and education is not disrupted further.
The campaign has been endorsed by 18-year-old swimmer Matthew Richards, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and NHS consultant paediatrician and TV presenter Dr Ranj Singh.
Mr Richards told students: "Make sure you test before you go back, and twice weekly - even if you don't have symptoms - so you can get back to the things you love like competitive sports and school matches."
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "I have every confidence that school and college staff, parents and students will continue to work together admirably, following pragmatic measures like testing and vaccinations to minimise disruption and keep children where they belong - in the classroom."
Department for Education (DfE) guidance states that secondary school and college pupils in England should be tested twice on-site on their return, with lateral flow tests carried out between three and five days apart.
Pupils should then continue to test twice weekly at home until the end of September, when the policy will be reviewed.
It comes as NHS England said more than half a million 16 and 17-year-olds have had their first dose, with efforts continuing to encourage teenagers to get a jab, including revellers at the Reading and Leeds festival this weekend being offered a vaccine dose at pop-up clinics set up across the two sites.
Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: "Around one in three people who have coronavirus have no symptoms, so it is vital that we continue rapid testing in schools to help uncover hidden cases of the virus at the start of term."
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid added: "I urge parents to encourage their children to take regular tests, to help break chains of transmission and stop the virus spreading."
Schools in Scotland returned last week after the summer break and the country has also seen a spike in coronavirus cases.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned she could not rule out reposing Covid restrictions as the number of new daily cases rose.
The Welsh Government has asked that parents test their children for coronavirus at least twice a week regardless of whether they have symptoms or not once the new academic year starts in September.
All 16 and 17-year-olds in Wales have now been offered the vaccine and 12 to 15-year-olds who are clinically vulnerable will be offered vaccination before term starts.
All students in Northern Ireland have now returned to school with the country's vaccination programme extended to 12 to 15-year-old's on August 12 with more than 50,000 eligible children signing up for the jab in the first day.
The latest Government figures show there were a further 35,847 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK as of Wednesday, and another 149 people had died within 28 days of testing positive.
