More than a quarter of school staff in England may not comply with the government’s test and trace system if there is a coronavirus outbreak at their school, a Tes survey has found.

Asked how prepared they would be to cooperate with the system and supply details of their contacts, a large majority - 69 per cent - said they would be “completely” ready to do so.

However, another 25 per cent of staff said they had “reservations”, while 3 per cent said they “wouldn’t do it”.

The question received nearly 6,000 responses from school staff, and the percentages remained exactly the same when just the 4,512 responses from teachers in England were considered. Many said they were worried about how the government would use their data.

The survey also reveals that nearly nine out of 10 (88 per cent) of school staff lack confidence in the ability of the government’s test and trace policy to make school openings safe.

Revealed: Huge staff doubts about school Covid safety

Unachievable: Distancing in schools won’t happen, say 90% of teachers

U-turn: Masks ‘should be’ worn in high-risk secondaries

One teacher said they had reservations about cooperating with test and trace “due to the lack of transparency and data breaches”.

“I do not trust that the government won’t release data or suffer a data hack based on the nature of the information collected,” they said.

‘I don’t trust the government with my data’

Another teacher said they had doubts “because I don’t trust the government with my data”.

And a third teacher asked: “How long will they hold data? Who will they share it with? Will it work?”

The news comes with schools about to open up again to all pupils on Tuesday, with test and trace supposed to play a central role in preventing Covid-19 from spreading again. 

But doubts have been growing about how effective test and trace will be. On Thursday, it was revealed that the government’s system had failed to reach its target of reaching 80 per cent of those testing positive, for the ninth week in a row.

The Tes survey conducted last month right at the end of term reveals that teachers and other school staff have longstanding doubts. Only 8 per cent were prepared to at least say they were “quite confident” about test and trace making school openings safe

One teacher said: “I don’t feel that my information would definitely be safe, and unless I had assurances that my information would be used for no other purpose, I don’t know how willing I would be to cooperate.”

Some staff were concerned the data collected by the government might be used in a “negative way”, while others suspected the system may be “completely ineffective”.

Test and trace ‘could lead to a blame culture’

One teacher said they had reservations because “the system could lead to a blame culture and scapegoating of anyone in schools carrying the virus”.

A headteacher said: “I don’t have any problem with cooperating; I just don’t have any faith in it as an effective means of controlling the disease’s spread, in its current form.”

And one teaching assistant said they would have reservations simply because: “the government have proven time & time again to be incompetent”.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) urged all staff to comply with the system.

Geoff Barton, ASCL general secretary, said: “It is vital that everybody cooperates with the test and trace system because this is one of the key measures in preventing the spread of coronavirus and keeping everyone safe.

“We would recommend that anybody who is concerned refers to the section on test and trace in the government guidance on the full opening of schools, which sets out the procedures and responsibilities.”

‘Getting all children back into classrooms a national priority’

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Getting all children back into their classrooms full-time in September is a national priority, because it is the best place for their education, development and wellbeing. This will be particularly important for disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs.

“We have always been clear in our guidance about the protective measures that schools should implement to reduce risks for staff and pupils as far as possible.

“Parents are becoming increasingly confident in their children returning to school, which is testament to the work of school staff across the country who are putting in place a range of protective measures to prepare to welcome back all pupils at the start of term.”