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New official figures show almost all schools open
across England at start of autumn term
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Millions of children have resumed full-time education
in their classrooms
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Education Secretary thanks staff for getting schools
ready for full return
New official figures show almost every school in England has
opened for the start of the autumn term, following months of hard
work and dedication from staff to implement protective measures.
Figures published by the Department for Education today (Tuesday
15 September) show over 99 per cent of schools were open to some
or all their pupils on Thursday 10 September, and 92 per cent
were open to all their pupils. The majority of schools not open
to all their pupils were in the process of doing so, with only
one per cent of responding schools not fully open due to cases of
coronavirus.
More than seven million children and young people were back in
the classroom last week, representing 88 per cent of pupils
across the country.
On average 95.3 per cent of pupils attended school in the 2018/19
academic year, although differing data collection approaches mean
the two figures are not directly comparable.
The Department for Education is working closely with all schools
that are not fully open to ensure remote education is in place
for the children who are unable to attend in person, and to
ensure schools are only sending those home to self-isolate who
have had close contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus.
Less than 0.1 per cent of schools are completely closed, with
local public health protection teams working to support them to
reopen as soon as possible. These temporary closures reflect
exceptional circumstances such as cases amongst staff members at
very small schools.
Education Secretary
said:
“The best place for children and young people to learn is in the
classroom, and it’s encouraging to see that last week more than
seven million pupils were back with their classmates and teachers
at schools around the country.
“I do not underestimate the work staff have done to put in place
the protective measures required to reduce the risk of
transmission. But as the UK’s Chief Medical Officers have already
made clear, the risk of catching coronavirus at school is low,
meaning that the wider risks to children being out of school is,
in fact, far greater.
“The fact that the vast majority of our schools are fully open is
testament to the hard work of staff throughout the summer
holidays in preparing for a safe return. I cannot thank them
enough for all that they have done, and for the tremendous
resilience they have shown and continue to show every day. We’ll
also continue to work with schools, LAs and parents to make sure
as many children as possible attend school.”
Schools that have reported being fully open have 90 per cent of
pupils currently attending, with pupil absence partly due to
self-isolation in line with public health advice, following
suspected or confirmed cases outside of school settings.
Attendance figures include pupils absent for both Covid-19 and
non-Covid-19 related reasons. Today’s figures are a further
reflection of the growing parental confidence around children
returning to schools. We continue to encourage families to ensure
where possible that their children are returning to the
classroom, which is the best place for their education,
development and wellbeing.
In early years, approximately 67 per cent of all settings were
reported by local authorities to be open on 10 September, a
significant increase on the number open over the summer holidays.
Unlike with school-aged children, early years attendance is
non-statutory. Due to many children attending early years
settings on a part-time basis, 100 per cent attendance in early
years settings is never achieved.
Week on week a minority of schools are expected to remain open
only to some pupils, where they are following published guidance
on how to handle a positive case.
If a positive case at a school or college is confirmed, swift
action is being taken to ask those who have been in close contact
with them to self-isolate. Public Health England’s local health
protections teams are continuing to support and advise schools in
this situation.
Children who are self-isolating will receive remote education,
and the Department is making available an initial additional
150,000 laptops and tablets to schools, academy trusts and LAs
for disadvantaged children in years 3 to 11 whose education is
disrupted this term.
Attendance statistics will be published on a weekly basis
throughout this term, looking back at the previous school week.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
