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COVID-19: School bubbles to end in England, Gavin Williamson says, and pupils will only need to self-isolate if test positive from 16 August

The school bubble system is being scrapped in England and only those who test positive for COVID-19 will have to self-isolate.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that from 16 August pupils will no longer have to self-isolate if they are a close contact of someone who tests positive for coronavirus.

Mask wearing and social distancing will also end as part of the next step in lockdown easing, which Boris Johnson has said he hopes will be on 19 July.

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Mr Williamson told the Commons: "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."

The NHS system will take over responsibility when step four happens.

Schools will also no longer need to stagger start and finish times from that date, but Mr Williamson said they can continue to until the end of the summer term if they wish.

Children who are contacted by Track and Trace as being a contact of someone who has tested positive will be advised to take a PCR test.

Mr Williamson added that secondary and college pupils will be required to take two tests on-site at the start of the autumn term and continue to take two tests a week at home until the end of September, when the policy will be reviewed.

Also from the autumn term, teachers who are fully vaccinated can remain in school if a close contact tests positive.

Hundreds of thousands of school pupils have been required to self-isolate each week as part of the government's bubble system under which all pupils in a "bubble", such as a class or year group, have to isolate for 10 days if somebody in it tests positive.

Each bubble is meant to keep separate from others to minimise the spread of coronavirus and to stop entire schools from having to self-isolate.

However, the system has been heavily criticised by parents and teachers over concerns pupils are missing school unnecessarily.

In June, the number of pupils sent home due to COVID quadrupled, but only about 4% were confirmed cases while the rest were because of a potential contact at school.

There are concerns pupils' education and mental health are being harmed by not being in school when they are not ill, with children sometimes coming out of isolation to then have to go back in soon after.

It is also causing issues for parents who have to juggle work and childcare.