Teachers are missing out on rapid-result coronavirus tests in Stoke-on-Trent - because they are stuck at work.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is offering the 'lateral flow' tests - which give results in 20 minutes - on weekdays.
But the sessions typically take place between 9.30am and 2pm which is impossible for people who cannot get time off work during that four-and-a-half hour window.
Now teacher Stephanie Hood - who is the head of history at St Joseph's College, in Trent Vale - is calling for later sessions.
One alternative is a visit to one of the regional or local testing centres which trigger a period of self-isolation pending the test result and that can take a number of days to come through.
The 36-year-old, from Burslem, said: "Stoke-on-Trent City Council has announced lateral flow testing from 9.30am to 2pm which is no good for teachers. You can go and get a test at the bet365 Stadium easily enough but you're waiting 48 hours for a result. For a teacher to be off work for 48 hours waiting for a result can be catastrophic for a school.
"Some days I'm waking up with a sore throat, thinking 'have I got coronavirus?' Then you're walking that line, do I get a test at the bet365 and be out for 48 hours or more, or do I teach and stay as far away as possible as I can? And parents are going through that too.
"But if the council offered a 3pm to 7pm or 8pm session, teachers could get rapid results. Some of our children have missed eight to 12 weeks of the year just self isolating and rapid testing would help them too and us. I myself have been out for eight days due to close contact with a positive student.
"Teachers are on the frontline without PPE and, yes, you can wear a mask but try teaching in one. You'll lose your voice in 10 minutes."
Ten city schools are currently benefiting from the lateral flow tests. It is hoped these will be offered across all schools, although there is no timescale.
Council leader Abi Brown said: "It's about having the resources to provide the tests. The staff carrying out the tests between 9.30am and 2pm are the same staff who are going into schools to train people to train others."
