Guidance

Asymptomatic testing: primary and maintained nursery school staff

Information on rapid asymptomatic coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for staff in primary schools, school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 18 January 2021
• Last updated: 24 March 2021
  Show all updates

  1. 24 March 2021

     Updated the guidance to include information on who should be offered testing, how the testing works, testing pupils and what staff with symptoms or a positive test result need to do.

  2. 29 January 2021

     Added updated information about reporting delivery and test issues using the form, and contacting the helpline for the link which has been shared with primary schools, school-based nurseries, and maintained nursery schools, to access guidance and support materials.

  3. 18 January 2021

     First published.

This publication was withdrawn on 8 July 2021

This guidance has now been updated and included as part of specific guidance for schools and guidance for early years and childcare providers.

Applies to England

Documents

Rapid asymptomatic coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for staff in primary schools, school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools

HTML

Details

This guidance is for all staff working in:

• local authority maintained primary schools – including special schools and pupil referral units (PRUs)
• primary academies - including special academies and alternative provision free schools
• junior schools
• non-maintained special schools
• independent primary schools - including independent special schools and independent alternative provision
• hospital schools
• school-based nurseries maintained nursery schools
• private, voluntary and independent nurseries (from 22 March 2021)

There’s separate guidance on asymptomatic testing for early years settings.

Staff working in all-through schools and middle schools should be tested through the secondary school testing programme.