The military is being called in to help secondary schools and colleges with coronavirus testing at the start of the spring term.
Some 1,500 personnel will give planning support, training and phone advice to English schools needing help with the testing process and setting up facilities.
The government is pressing ahead with plans for primary school, older secondary school and college pupils to return in early January – despite scientists claiming a delay is needed if rising infection rates are to be brought under control.
Each secondary school and college in England will be offered testing, with £78m allocated to support this, the government has said, adding that schools will be given the kit they need.
In most cases, students will be expected to swab themselves under supervision of a school staff member or volunteer who has been trained for the role.
The military support of the programme begins this week and will consist mostly of webinars and meetings, although there will be teams capable of deploying at short notice to provide closer support if needed.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The UK Armed Forces are stepping up once again this holiday. This week I have authorised over a thousand Armed Forces personnel to assist schools returning after the Christmas break.
“They’ll share considerable experience of testing across the country and the successful school pilots conducted this autumn.
“We are grateful for the professionalism and commitment they and our colleagues in teaching are showing to get students back into the classroom and on with their education.”
Calls to delay schools return
A recent paper on the new COVID variant by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine warned that even action similar to November’s second national lockdown across England – in which schools remained open – is “unlikely” to reduce the rate of infection to below one “unless primary schools, secondary schools, and universities are also closed”.
Both London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey have called for schools to reopen later than planned in January.
Labour are demanding the government publish scientific evidence to support the return of schools and colleges.
On Monday, the Politico website reported SAGE – led by the government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance – had urged ministers to keep secondary schools closed next month in a bid to dampen the rise in infections.
