The latest school attendance figures from the Department for Education show that as of 25 November, 208,000 pupils did not attend school due to Coronavirus. This compares to 130,000 children two weeks prior.
Of these,106,000 had a confirmed case of Coronavirus, up from 67,000 on 11 November.
It comes after the DfE announced additional safety measures in schools this week such as making staff and visitors wear face coverings after the new variant Omicron was discovered in the UK.
A breakdown of the latest figures reveals attendance in primary schools was 91.1 per cent on 25 November, down from 93.6 per cent a fortnight earlier.
The data also shows that attendance in secondary schools was 87.5 per cent, compared to 89.5 per cent on 11 November.
Stronger school guidance needed
The National Education Union (NEU) called on the Prime Minister Boris Johnson to implement ‘stronger school guidance’, similar to Scotland, to keep Covid cases down.
Joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said, ‘The autumn term was always going to be a challenge for schools and colleges, as the coronavirus continued to circulate through the community.
‘Today's attendance figures show that the half-term fall in case rates was only temporary. Covid-related absences are on the rise in both primary and secondary, and among teachers and school staff. Around 1 in 40 pupils were absent on 25 November, up from 1 in 60 two weeks prior.
‘Boris Johnson must for once be willing to learn lessons from Scotland where the evidence is now clear that more stringent guidance can make a big difference in keeping case rates down in schools. In Scotland masks are required in secondary classrooms, as is the isolation of very close contacts until a negative PCR. As a result of these efforts, the infection rate in Scotland among under-15s is falling, whereas in England it has been steadily rising since the return to school after half term.’
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said some schools were having to cancel nativity performances.
‘School leaders have already been making difficult decisions about nativities, based on the guidance they have received from local health teams.
‘Where this means cancelling nativities, or parents being unable to attend, many schools will explore other options such as online-only performances.’
- The latest figures are available here