According to new research by Public Health England (PHE), out of one million children attending pre-school and primary school in June, just 70 children and 128 staff were infected with Covid-19.
They found that just 0.01 per cent of ‘educational settings’ that were open had an outbreak of the virus.
The publication of the research comes as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson today made a direct appeal to parents to send their children back to school when they reopen in England next week. Schools in Scotland reopened earlier this month . It follows concerns that parents don’t feel reassured that sending their children to school is safe.
Reports suggest that if parents refuse to send their children back to school they will be fined.
The PHE study is based upon national surveillance of educational settings during the summer ‘mini-term’ on 1 June 2020. Researchers calculated daily infection and outbreak rates for staff and students attending early years settings, primary and secondary schools during the month of June.
They found that risk of infection of Covid-19 and outbreaks was very low across all settings, with the highest risk in primary schools, which it says likely reflects the higher number that were open. Staff had higher rates of infection and outbreaks than children. Rates of infection among pupils was higher in those attending primary school, while cases in children in early years settings were more likely to be linked to outbreaks.
According to PHE, there were more likely to be outbreaks in areas that had a high COVID-19 incidence, suggesting transmission in the community was driving the spread in schools.
Where children did catch the virus it was more likely to be from their parents at home.
However, the study does acknowledge that childcare settings and schools that were open during the summer undertook extensive social distancing measures and infection control with limitations on the number of staff and students in each bubble.
Dr Shamez Ladhani of Public Health England said, ‘SARS-CoV2 infections and outbreaks were uncommon in educational settings during the first month after the easing of national lockdown in England. The strong correlation with regional SARS-CoV-2 incidence emphasises the importance of controlling community transmission to protect educational settings. Additional interventions should focus on red reducing transmission in and among staff members.’
Returning to school
Speaking today, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, ‘I have previously spoken about the moral duty to reopen schools to all pupils safely, and I would like to thank the school staff who have spent the summer months making classrooms Covid-secure in preparation for a full return in September.
‘We have always been guided by our scientific and medical experts, and we now know far more about coronavirus than we did earlier this year.
‘As the Chief Medical Officer has said, the risk of contracting Covid-19 in school is very small and it is far more damaging for a child’s development and their health and well-being to be away from school any longer.
‘This is why it’s vitally important that we get our children back into the classroom to learn and to be with their friends. Nothing will have a greater effect on the life chances of our children than returning to school.’
While the National Education Union agreed with the Chief Medical Officer about the benefits a return to full-time education will have for children, it accused the Government of ‘sorely letting down school staff, parents and pupils’ because of a lack of a plan B and in ensuring a ‘robust’ track and test system is in place.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, explained, ‘The report by PHE shows that there were only a small number of outbreaks in schools after the partial wider opening in June, but as the report itself acknowledges there are limitations on the generalisability of its findings - both because there was little data from secondary schools and because in primary schools much smaller “bubble” sizes were possible in the summer.
‘It is very important that such monitoring studies are maintained during the period of wider school opening.
'Schools and colleges are currently doing all they can to ensure their buildings are as COVID secure as possible, as well as dealing with the fallout from the exams fiasco.
‘We believe the Government is negligent in the extreme. Schools and colleges need to know what should happen if an outbreak of the virus occurs in individual schools or more widely with either national, regional or local spikes. Government advice needs to cover the possible self-isolation of bubbles and, in extremis, moving to rotas or to more limited opening. It needs to cover advice to heads about the protections needed for staff in high risk categories if infection rates rise.
‘Government should be employing more teachers and seeking extra teaching spaces to allow education to continue in a Covid secure manner if infections rise. This should include employment of student teachers who have finished their courses and not yet found jobs, as well as mobilisation of supply staff.’