Rise in school absence due to Covid-19 – as head urges Government not to close schools

Data released by the Department for Education (DfE) suggests that Covid-related pupil absence in state schools in England is currently at its highest since all schools fully reopened in March.

The DfE estimates that around 3.3 per cent of state school pupils – at least 239,000 children – did not attend class for Covid-related reasons on June 27, up from 1.2 per cent on June 10.

Hayley Guest, headteacher at East Park Academy in Wolverhampton, said they had around 180 children off in the last few weeks – after two class bubbles were sent home to isolate due to positive cases.

She said: "We were doing so well since we came back from the lockdown in March, we hadn't had a single case and we were really building a momentum. Then earlier in June we had our first case in reception.

"We did all the protocol we have been following during the year – but there's a real difference to Public Health England this time round. Whereas back in the autumn term, whenever we did have a case, and we did have cases, towards the end of that period they were very much trying to drill down to try identify who the smallest number of children were to try and limit the impact of how many children were at home.

"This time it was noticeably different, immediately – part of it was to do with the age of the children, because the younger the children are in terms of how they learn and how they contact lots of people in the classroom. But the same approach again – closed for all 90.

"Interestingly this time, for the first time since we have ever had bubbles closed, from that bubble that are now isolating we are being made aware of children that are positive within that year group since. So they are doing the right thing in closing it for the whole 90, even though it feels extreme going back to that again, clearly it's for a reason. Because of these new variants it clearly is transmitting really quickly.

"We are desperately trying to get these children through the end of the summer term. They've missed over a third of their school year this year. Do not close schools, that's got to be the very, very last resort."

A spokesman for Wolverhampton Council said current attendance at city primary schools is at 93.24 per cent, and secondaries 87.25 per cent. The spokesman added that it was a "very slight dip" on attendance at primary schools before half-term.

Dudley Council said that in the week after half-term there were 163 children absent from school due to either testing positive or having to self-isolate as a result of coming into contact with a pupil who have tested positive – but in the latest week of figures available, from June 13 to June 19, it increased to 497 children.

Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Although we saw an increase in the number of pupils off school due to Covid last week, it is important to remember that the figure still only represents just over one per cent of the total school population we have on roll across the borough."

Staffordshire County Council said there were currently 2,500 pupils were currently self-isolating in the county – around 2.2 per cent of the school population. Councillor Jonathan Price, cabinet member for education, said: “The rise in Covid-19 cases nationally is being reflected in Staffordshire schools. We are seeing an increase in the number of pupils self-isolating because they have either tested positive for Covid-19 or are a close contact of someone who has tested positive."

A spokesman for Walsall Council said: "Data published by the DfE for Walsall indicates that school attendance figures after half term – week commencing June 7 – was at 83.9 per cent. Over the next two weeks following half term the attendance in Walsall has remained stable at 83.7 per cent.

“Public Health Walsall and children’s services continue to work closely with schools on Covid-19 related matters including symptoms-reporting, consequent monitoring and the tracing of suspected cases."

A Sandwell Council spokesperson added: “School attendance on May 28, the last day of half-term, was 80.5 per cent. School attendance on June 7, the first day back after half-term, was 77.4 per cent. On June 18, school attendance was 87.2 per cent. However, this week we are seeing a rise in positive cases which may affect attendance.”

Nationally, the number of pupils self-isolating due to a potential contact with a Covid-19 case from inside the school quadrupled in just one week, from 40,000 on June 10 – the week after half-term – to 172,000 children on June 17. A further 42,000 pupils were self-isolating due to a possible contact outside school, up from 32,000 the previous week.