Further Covid restrictions in education settings will end from Step 4, the Education Secretary has confirmed today [6 July].
As part of Step 4, expected to take place on 19 July, ‘bubbles’ will end for all children under 18, social distancing will no longer be necessary, and schools will not need to stagger start and finish times, though they can continue with existing arrangements until the end of term if they wish.
The lifting of Covid restrictions in schools is in line with the general removal of restrictions for England at Step 4. Schools may choose to continue with these measures until the end of the Summer term.
From 16 August, the legal requirement to self-isolate for contacts of a positive case will end for everyone aged under 18, and for adults who have been fully vaccinated. This means that from the autumn term, only those who test positive will need to self-isolate. From Step 4, NHS test and trace will carry out contact tracing in all education settings rather than being run by the school or college. Those…
