Coronavirus: One in five schools report ‘significant’ absences due to Covid-19

Figures from a National Education Union (NEU) survey of almost 5,500 members reveal that 80 per cent of respondents report pupil absences and 70 per cent report staff shortages because of self-isolating and/or a lack of tests. Twenty per cent of schools have ‘significant’ pupil absence and 19 per cent have sent a whole bubble home.

Prioritising pupils and staff for Covid-19 testing is ‘absolutely key’ to keeping schools open and was the top priority for 74 per cent of respondents.

When asked if staff shortages would lead to difficulties for their school when trying to maintain sufficient staff levels, almost half of respondents (47 per cent) said that it was an imminent problem for their school and more than one in ten (11 per cent) described it as an existing problem.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said, ‘School and college staff are doing everything they can to keep schools open for all pupils, but the Government is not pulling its weight. Our survey shows all too clearly that a lack of access to testing and the disruption of self-isolation, often due to the lack of a test result, is undermining the ability of schools to maintain fully-staffed on-site learning for all those who need it. The results also show an imminent danger that this problem will become very widespread indeed.’