School backs down after refusing to let pupils attend without proof of negative Covid test

A primary school which was refusing to let pupils attend without proof of a negative Covid test has backed down. We reported earlier how parents had criticised Forest Gate Academy, in Partington, Trafford, for ordering pupils deemed as close contacts of a positive case to show their test on arrival each day.

Without it they would be turned away from class and parents told us families who didn't want to test their children were being forced to keep them at home. READ MORE: Masks no longer required in classrooms, Prime Minister announces However, the school's rule - which was also being applied at nearby Partington Central Academy, also part of The Dean Trust - was at odds with the guidance issued by the government.

While it's the case that schools can request that tests be done, it is only advisory and the Department for Education has confirmed that its guidance states 'testing remains voluntary but is strongly encouraged'.

Today both schools, which share the same executive headteacher Anita Edwards, have written to parents to say the testing will no longer be enforced. "We will continue to strongly advise parents to continue with LFT testing on entry to school (if your class has been notified)," the message said. "But this is now voluntary and not a requirement to enter school." One parent told us the school should never have been allowed to 'make up its own rule' in the first place. "I'm pleased they have seen sense and decided to follow the proper rules, which should have been followed from the start," she said. "There have been a lot of unhappy kids walking away because they had no test in hand as they had forgotten or not done them." Parents with children at Forest Gate had earlier criticised the school, saying