Commenting as the government releases its latest school
attendance data which shows that "Covid-related pupil absence in
state schools is increasing and is currently at its highest rate
since schools reopened in March 2021", Paul Whiteman, general
secretary of NAHT, which represents leaders in the majority of
schools, said:
“We are continuing to see a clear and concerning increase in both
the number of cases of Covid-19 and the number of pupils needing
to self-isolate as a result. Leaders are reporting that this is
having a real impact in their schools, and that the level of
disruption is now very high.
“The government simply does not appear to have a grip on this
situation and there is a real concern that we will continue to
see these numbers continue to rise in the coming weeks.
“Schools are operating under enormous pressure and are working
incredibly hard to continue to ensure that all the safety
measures recommended by government remain in place, and to
deliver uninterrupted education for all pupils but they are
coming under increasing strain.
“It is essential that local public health teams are given the
freedom to react quickly and put additional precautions in place
where this is necessary – seeking central government approval for
such action only risks delaying the necessary measures being put
in place. Guidance on issues such as face coverings must be kept
under constant review in light of the rapidly changing data, and
there is much more the government could do on other protective
measures such as ventilation too.
“We also need to remember that some younger teachers will not
have had both their vaccinations yet and the mitigations in place
in schools remain extremely important for the whole community.”
