New research from the Scottish government shows that around a third of parents and pupils were not taking part in the Covid testing programme put in place to stop school staff and pupils from inadvertently spreading the virus, reports Emma Seith.
However, one of the most common reasons for non-participation is that pupils and their families do not know it exists.
Scottish government guidance recommends that staff and secondary school students carry out twice-weekly lateral flow tests in order to make schools and nurseries safer and protect them from anyone who has Covid-19, but does not have symptoms of the virus.
However, the government has admitted that uptake is a problem and now new research, based on surveys carried out in April and May, says: “Around a third of those who responded to both the pupil and parent [or] guardian surveys indicated that they (or their child/ren) were not currently taking part in the testing programme. By contrast, of those responding to the staff survey, just 7 per cent indicated that they were not participating.”
The research, published yesterday (Wednesday 15 December), said that school testing leads were reporting “high levels of participation in the testing programme among school staff”.
However, 30 per cent of the 2,058 secondary pupils surveyed said they were not participating, and 29 per cent of the 4,559 secondary parents and guardians who took part in the survey said their children were not taking part.
Common reasons for not participating in the testing programme, says the research, is that respondents did not know about it; that they were concerned the test was uncomfortable or unpleasant; and that they had concerns about the accuracy of the test.
Other barriers suggested in the research included that parents were less likely to encourage their children to participate because of concerns about the impact on learning if they had to self-isolate - at the time the survey was carried out, senior students were taking part in important assessments to support teachers’ estimated grades in a year when national exams were once again cancelled.
The findings of the survey chime with the low uptake of testing reported in Public Health Scotland data. It shows that, since the start of the 2021-22 school year, just 44.9 per cent of school staff have taken at least one test; 22.7 per cent of S1-3 pupils; and 12.6 per cent of S4-6 pupils.
However, it has been stressed that these figures are likely to be an underestimate, as some participants may opt to test but not record the results.
It is also important to note that, despite low uptake, the testing programme has led to the identification of almost 10,000 Covid cases among school students and staff since the start of the school year.
To improve uptake of the tests, parents and school staff who took part in the research suggested:
- Clearer promotion of, and more active support for, the testing programme in schools
- Clearer explanation of why regular testing is important - one respondent said schools need to “really sell the benefits”
- Sharing of evidence around the transmission of Covid-19 in schools to encourage uptake
- Providing nose-only swab tests to increase uptake, particularly for those who find the throat swab uncomfortable or off-putting
- Making it easier for pupils to get test kits by, for instance, distributing them to pupils instead of requiring pupils to collect test kits from the school office
- Providing opportunities to test in school, in particular, to help increase uptake among children and young people who may not have support to test at home - the research found 15 per cent of school leads, and over a quarter of local authority respondents, indicated that the testing programme could be improved by providing help for pupils who do not have someone at home who can help them do the test
- Making information about uptake levels publicly available, to encourage more families to take part and to reassure families that their children are safer because of testing.
- Making the method for recording results online simpler.
- Making testing mandatory.
The report can be read here.
