What are the school bubble rules?
THE Prime Minister has confirmed that school bubbles will be ditched on July 19. The move which was also confirmed by Sajid Javid comes amid pressure as fears have risen about the number of kids being forced to stay at home. Under the current rules, pupils have to self-isolate for 10 days if another pupil in their bubble tests positive for the Covid-19 virus. In some cases, this has meant that entire year groups have been sent home following an outbreak at a school. It has led to concerns many students are missing school unnecessarily with almost 50 MPs calling for the rule to be scrapped last week. Data show that last week 375,000 pupils were self-isolating at home, a four-fold rise from two weeks ago. In a letter to the Education Secretary MPs said it is "vital that all schools go back to normal from July 19 when restrictions lift, even if just for the last few days of term". They added: "This will send an important signal ahead of the autumn that the route to freedom is a 'one-way road' and genuinely 'irreversible'." In a major boost for pupils and parents, the rule is set to be scrapped this month. 2 The bubble system is expected to be replaced by daily testing Credit: PA  Mr Javid told MPs: On July 19 it is our plan to remove bubbles and to end the requirement for early years settings, schools and colleges to routinely carry out contact tracing. Boris Johnson had previously suggested the change would not be made until September. He said yesterday: We are looking to move to a different regime for fully-vaccinated contacts of those testing positive and also for children. The school bubble system is expected to be replaced by daily testing. Under the new rules, only the students who test positive will be sent home to self-isolate. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is set to unveil the Governments plans for protecting pupils today. Mr Williamson said last week: "Further steps will be taken to reduce the number of children who have to self-isolate including looking at the outcomes of a daily contact testing trial as we consider a new model for keeping children in schools and colleges." Last week Mr Johnson said he 'acknowledged the parents' ''frustration'' and urged them to wait for the Public Health England review. He said: "They haven't concluded yet so what I want to do is just to be cautious as we go forward to that natural firebreak of the summer holidays when the risk in schools will greatly diminish and just ask people to be a little bit patient."