Here's how the voluntary COVID surveillance scheme is expected to work.

No. Students and teachers are not required to produce a negative COVID-19 test before attending school from January 31 for new students and February 1 for returning students. Kits will be distributed by the end of the first week back.

The NSW and ACT governments have ordered tests for every student and staff member of public, Catholic and independent schools for the first four weeks of term. The scheme includes early childhood workers, but not children enrolled in early education.

It does not include volunteers who work in P&C-run uniform shops and canteens.

No, the ACT and NSW rapid antigen testing surveillance scheme is not compulsory as it would be near impossible to enforce.

Families and staff will be encouraged to take the test twice per week, but there will be no penalties if they fail to do so.

Australian Education Union ACT branch president Angela Burroughs said staff would be able to take the tests on days that made sense for their work schedule.

In the ACT, the rapid antigen kits distributed to schools require a swab of saliva, which will hopefully make testing young children easier.

The NSW government is distributing a mixture of saliva and nasal swab kits.

Each kit has precise instructions on how to collect the sample to get an accurate result.

Independent and Catholic schools are included in the rapid antigen test rollout.

Director of Catholic Education in the Canberra Goulburn Diocese Ross Fox said all Catholic schools in the ACT had been contacted by the ACT government to arrange delivery of the tests.

"RATs add an additional level of protection and assurance to schools in the current environment," he said.

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If a child tests positive to a rapid antigen or PCR test, the family must inform both their school or childcare provider and ACT Health.

It is up to the early learning centre or school to do a risk assessment of who was in contact with an infectious person on site.

In a school setting, students and adults will not have to go into quarantine but they will be encouraged to monitor closely for symptoms. Letters will only go out to the cohorts that are affected.

Early childhood settings, small group programs and specialist disability settings have different guidelines. Depending on the type of contact they had with the person during their infectious period, children and staff could be classified as moderate or high-risk exposure.

Those classed as high risk will need to quarantine for seven days from the date of last exposure. They can return to school after they return a negative rapid antigen or PCR test on day six.

If your child has any symptoms of COVID-19 - cough, sore throat, runny nose, fever - do not send them to school.

If a rapid antigen test comes back negative, wait 24 hours and take another RAT or a PCR test to make sure it isn't COVID. Keep them home until they don't have any symptoms.

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