Ofsted has said that many headteachers have found a lack of access to Covid-19 tests is a “real barrier” to getting schools open and keeping them “properly up and running.”

The watchdog has also revealed today that school leaders have expressed concerns about the likelihood of Year 11 students being “exam ready”.

And it has warned that schools have reported dealing with a lack of clarity in the national and local guidance and often receive conflicting information.

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Ofsted has highlighted these issues in a report published today, the first in a series of the state of the country’s school system following the return to full-time education last month.

The lack of Covid-19 tests has been the source of major controversy in schools, with heads warning that it is undermining the drive to keep schools open.

Today, Ofsted’s new report highlights this problem, following more than 100 visits to schools so far.

The report says:  “Many leaders saw the lack of availability of Covid-19 testing in their area as a real barrier to getting - or staying - properly up and running again.

“Leaders of some small schools described how quickly their school might have to close if staff could not get tested when they needed to, though this fear was shared by schools of all sizes.

“Leaders often commented on what they saw as a lack of clarity in the national and local guidance that they had to draw on.

“Many said that they received conflicting information from different agencies, or from different parts of the same agency.

“They said that this was very stressful for them and their leadership team, particularly last term but continuing into this term.”

The report adds: “Schools also expressed concerns about the likelihood of Year 11 pupils being ‘exam ready’.”

In a commentary published today, to accompany the report, Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman said: “The return to school in September was quite unlike any that we’d seen before; children returned to schools that had been reorganised to combat the spread of the virus.

“Leaders told us they had struggled at times to keep up with the guidance from the government, but nevertheless it was clear from our visits that schools had carefully considered how to apply that guidance in their own context.”