Parents of 4,000 secondary pupils in Stoke-on-Trent fail to give permission for Covid tests

Almost a third of Stoke-on-Trent families have failed to give consent for secondary pupils to have regular coronavirus testing.

So far, 70 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds returning to the city’s schools this week have agreed to be swabbed.

But that still means more than 4,100 young people out of around 13,700 secondary age students have not been tested.

And as they will be mixing with classmates in lessons, there are fears it could lead to the spread of Covid-19.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council today urged families who feel anxious about the tests to talk it through with their children’s schools.

Council leader Abi Brown said: “We are not entirely clear exactly why they are not consenting. We are working with schools to understand what the challenges are for the remaining 30 per cent. It may be they need reminding about the forms.”

In some cases, it’s likely to be down to families actively refusing to allow their children to have lateral flow tests. But for others, it could simply be due to school letters going astray or forgetting to reply to them.

All students in Year 7 and above are expected to have three lateral flow tests in school over a two-week period, along with another test at home. After that, they will receive home testing kits so they can swab their noses and throats twice a week and report the results.

But as the national initiative isn’t compulsory, it has relied on either parents or students aged 16 and over signing consent forms.

Mrs Brown said: “It’s really tricky. You are dealing with people under 18. It would be a challenge to have an opt-out scheme rather than an opt-in one. I’m hoping we are going to see the numbers go up next week.”

Although students get their home testing kits through their school, other members of their household can qualify for free kits through a different scheme. In Stoke-on-Trent, the kits could soon be available through community testing sites too.

At one of the city's largest schools, The Excel Academy in Sneyd Green, almost 85 per cent of parents have consented, and 892 students have been tested since Monday.

A school spokesman said: "Our students have been incredible and really grown with the way they have handled the testing. Their behaviour has been impeccable, and our staff and testers have been brilliant in supporting the process."

The city council said feedback has shown the return to school this week has largely gone well, with 95 per cent of primary pupils back in class on Monday.

Seventy per cent of secondary students also went back that day, although many year groups have had a phased return due to the mammoth task of testing them.

Covid stewards have visited a number of schools at drop-off and pick-up times to remind families not to congregate by school gates.

It follows concerns that some groups of parents and pupils were not socially distancing when they arrived at school. They were also reminded about wearing face masks.

Nationally, take-up of coronavirus testing in schools has been relatively high.

A survey by school leaders’ union ASCL on Monday found more than half of schools and colleges had between 90 and 100 per cent of students signed up for the tests. Take-up was below 60 per cent in just six per cent of the institutions.