Commenting on the government’s latest school attendance figures
released today (Tues 19 Oct), which show a further rise in
confirmed Covid cases in schools, James Bowen, director of policy
for school leaders’ union NAHT, said:
“We currently have record Covid-related absence in schools. The
government cannot just sit back and accept the growing numbers of
cases amongst school-age children. We also know that staff are
being affected too and that many schools are struggling to stay
open with increasing numbers of teachers and support staff
testing positive. We now have record numbers off with a confirmed
case of Covid and it is clear that more needs to be done to
control the spread.
“There are a number of things government could and should now be
doing with half-term approaching. The delivery of Co2 monitors
needs to be accelerated – too many schools are still waiting for
these devices to be delivered. We also need the government to be
far more proactive about actually improving ventilation. The DfE
announced it would be trialling the use of air purifiers in
August but we have seen nothing since. Changes should be made to
close contact isolation rules so that siblings of those who have
tested positive for Covid don’t continue to go into school and
infect others. We also need a track and trace system that is
working effectively.
“Allowing 12-15-year-olds to attend walk-in vaccination centres
would be a sensible decision to help speed up the rollout and
make sure those who want to get the vaccination can do so as
quickly as possible.
“If the government does not act now, there is a clear and obvious
risk that disruption to education will only get worse as we head
into winter.”
