Kent headteacher says students and staff are being 'let down' by lack of Covid testing
Video report by ITV News Meridian's Sarah Saunders
A headteacher from Kent is one of those in the South East that warn the testing system for coronavirus must be improved if schools are to remain open.
The Principal at Herne Bay High, Jon Boyes, says schools face a looming shortage of teachers, as they struggle to get the tests they need.
He says there are around 80 students who are at home waiting to be tested or are in the process of having a test completed. As of Monday (21 September) the school has three staff off work, two of which are trying to find coronavirus tests.
He says: "We're letting young people down again and it is not fair. We worry about our year 11 students, our year 13 students, and what it is going to look like for them sitting exams next year. Are they going to be able to be real as they always have been? Or are we going to be in a similar situation to the debacle this year of this summer? So you do start to lose faith a little bit."
At St Nicolas Primary School in Portslade, East Sussex, mum Katie Harding had to keep all her children off school - while they waited for a test.
Katie says: "It took me about three days to manage to get hold of a test which was just such a pain. It took over my life for three days, trying to keep logging on and going through all the information, and then getting offered a place on the Isle of Wight."
In Kent, 34 schools have had confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far in September.
It has recently affected, among others, Year 11 at Holcombe Grammar School in Chatham and year 9s at Tonbridge Grammar School.
Meanwhile at Benenden, a public school in Cranbrook, it has opted out out the government system and instead invested in its own Covid testing machine, which will be shared with two local state schools.
Speaking to ITV on Monday (21 September), the Health Secretary Hancock said relatively few coronavirus cases are caught through schools, and while there are plans for testing capacity to increase, there is no current suggestions teachers or pupils will be added to a priority list.