London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Covid bubbles to be axed in England's schools

Covid bubbles to be axed in England's schools

Covid rules that have seen hundreds of thousands of pupils miss out on learning due to self-isolation are being axed in England, it is confirmed.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the system of sending "bubbles" of children home after a positive case would cease at the end of summer term.

The bubble system had been necessary to limit virus spread but was now causing disruption to pupils' lives, he said.

Teaching unions warned against easing rules as cases are still rising.

The changes to schools guidance will take effect at the same time as the country eases restrictions and moves to stage four. This is expected to be on 19 July - with confirmation of this due next Monday.

However, some schools break up a few days before that.

'Disruption'


The need for face masks, social distancing measures and staggered start and finish times in schools will be scrapped from September, Mr Williamson said.

The Covid testing regime for pupils will be transferred to the NHS track and trace system, Mr Williamson said.

Instead, secondary schools will be asked to offer pupils two Covid tests at the beginning of the autumn term, as a one-off event.

The changes were announced as the latest official statistics for England show the number of pupils out and self-isolating due to Covid hit a record high of 641,000 pupils.

Only 28,000 of these had a confirmed case of Covid-19.

The "bubble" system in England's schools is to be scrapped

Mr Williamson told the Commons: "Keeping children in consistent groups was essential to control the spread of the virus when our population was less vaccinated.

"We recognise that the system of bubbles and isolation is causing disruption to many children's education.

"That is why we'll be ending bubbles and transferring contact tracing to the NHS Test and Trace system for early years settings, schools and colleges."

Department for Education figures show that in the autumn term (2020), some 33 million days of school were missed by pupils observing Covid isolation rules.

Earlier, Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that from 16 August under 18s would not have to isolate unless they themselves had tested positive for Covid.

This will prevent large numbers of youngsters having to stay at home because they have been in contact with someone who has the virus.

Sacrifices'


Mr Williamson said: "I do not think it is acceptable that children should face greater restrictions over and above those of wider society, especially since they have given up so much to keep older generations safe during this pandemic."

He said: "Where there are outbreaks schools and colleges may be contacted by NHS Test and Trace and they will also work with local health teams as they currently do now.

"We're also setting out new rules that mean from the 16 August children will only need to isolate if they have tested positive for Covid-19."

A pupil's view
Alice has been sent home to isolate three times this year

Alice is a student at Westhoughton High School in Bolton, one of the areas of the country most significantly impacted by Covid.

She has had to self-isolate three times this school year and says it has been very difficult to study at home.

"I'm really lucky because my mum's a teacher so she's been able to help me on some things, but I've been struggling on how to do the difficult work in isolation," says Alice.

"It was hard because you're not face-to-face with a teacher - when you're in class teachers can read your facial expressions and tell when you're struggling and they can come and work individually with you.

"But when you're at home you're kind of struggling on your own."

Alice has also struggled not seeing her friends.

She says being in school is always the best option and makes her feel more confident about her GCSE study. "I'm not worrying as much," she says.

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of National Association of Schoolmasters and Women Teachers, said it was unclear how the changes would prevent disruption from happening.

"Removing the requirement for pupils to self-isolate when they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive may well accelerate the spread of the virus in schools and cause even higher levels of disruption for pupils and teachers. "

Geoff Barton, head of the Association of School and College Leaders, said this significant relaxation of measures would be greeted with some trepidation after the past 15 months.

But he added that it simply would not be fair to continue with the current controls which have "blighted the lives of children and young people", when the adult population was largely vaccinated.

The education secretary also said there would be no restrictions on in-person teaching and learning in universities as national restrictions are lifted.

Analysis:

By Sean Coughlan, BBC News education correspondent

The latest huge increase in pupils being sent home shows the chaos threatening the end of term in England's schools.

Scrapping the bubble system and changing the rules about isolation is intended to reduce the disruption - because as this week's figures show, 96% of those at home because of Covid do not have Covid.

This is now about "managing Covid" next term rather than expecting it to disappear.

There is also another troubling issue revealed by these attendance figures. While more than 641,000 are off school for Covid-related issues there are almost as many again who are absent for other, mostly unexplained, reasons.

The non-Covid absence numbers are way higher than would usually be off sick - and it raises questions about whether families are keeping pupils off school or large numbers of children have effectively stopped attending.

The reasons, like the risks, are unknown but worrying. But it means more than 1.2 million children are missing from school.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×