PARENTS have been told to make returning secondary school pupils complete covid tests twice a week to stop the virus spreading.

Following the months of chaos for parents dealing with year groups being sent home and online learning, they will now have to make sure students complete two home tests weekly as well as the lateral flow tests at school.

Returning pupils in Year 7 and over will now have to do two lateral flow tests at school, three to five days apart, and test at home twice weekly.

This is the latest blow as the government launch a new campaign to persuade all secondary schools to maintain regular testing or risk another winter wave.

It follows a warning from an expert advising the government that music festivals coinciding with the return to school will lead to a "significant surge" in Covid-19 infections.

But the system will rely largely on parents, with no feasible way for schools to check on every pupil every week.

Ministers are aiming the advertising drive at parents and teenagers, making it their duty to keep infection rates down.

NHS England has said more than half a million 16 and 17 year-olds have had their first dose, with efforts continuing to encourage teenagers to get jabbed.

Revellers at the Reading and Leeds festival this weekend are even being offered a vaccine dose at pop-up clinics set up across the two sites.

Olympian, Matt Richards and This Morning's TV doctor, Dr Ranj Singh are backing the campaign.

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 were issued guidance in July setting out measures they should implement for September, including maintaining increase hygiene and ventilation – but year group 'bubbles' and face coverings have been removed.

Children no longer have to isolate if they come into contact with a positive case.

Instead, they will need to do a PCR test and then isolate only if positive.

The DfE is also reissuing its 'remote education direction', which requires schools to offer immediate access to high-quality online learning where students need to self-isolate.

But education union leaders are concerned that less strict safety measures this term may lead to higher cases and even more disruption to lessons.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "Government guidance is very different from the last academic year and the control measures are less stringent.

"Our concerns are over the potential risk of a high number of infections among pupils which cause more educational disruption and may lead to some young people suffering serious symptoms."

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 also 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.

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