At least two councils have told schools to reintroduce some Covid measures as cases threaten to spiral out of control.

Schools in Staffordshire have been issued with new guidance including the reintroduction of classroom bubbles and face coverings in crowded places after infections increased by nearly a third in the past week.

Wolverhampton secondary school pupils have also been told to wear masks in communal areas as councils take it upon themselves to tackle the latest outbreaks.

All compulsory measures were scrapped by the government for the start of the latest term, with schools able to operate mostly as normal.

But Covid has started spreading fast, particularly among younger age groups, and it is feared they will pass the infection on to more vulnerable groups.

The latest figures show around one in 20 children in school years 7 to 11 are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to September 25 – the highest positivity rate for any age group.

Staffordshire’s new guidance covers all of its 500 primary and secondary schools and includes a series of stricter measures.

The briefing for heads, seen by Schools Week, recommends primaries reintroduce class bubbles and scrap assemblies and all staff meetings as well as consider other changes such as staggering lunch breaks.

Secondaries should bring back year group bubbles, face coverings and social distancing rules.

All schools should encourage staff to get vaccinated and promote the jabs to eligible pupils, the guidance states.

The recommendations have been supported by the director of public health and cabinet member and have been briefed to the Department for Education, according to the document.

But DfE guidance currently states that schools should only introduce measures in response to high case rates among pupils and they should be temporary.

Union leaders say there is confusion and a lack of clarity over who has responsibility for reintroducing restrictions.

The DfE say local officials should recommend measures if there is an outbreak but it has reserved the right to step in where there are ‘widespread issues’ across a region.

All children aged 12 and over in the UK are now able to have a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, which means those in school years 8 to 11 in England, as well as some in year 7, can get the jab.

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