Commenting as the latest release of the government’s school
attendance figures, from the last week before half term, show a
fall in attendance and a rise in COVID-related absence, Paul
Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:
“Although the number of children not attending school due to
Covid is low overall, there has been a distinct rise – and the
national figures mask huge regional differences due to the
prevalence of the Delta, or Indian, variant in some areas.
“We are hearing from our members that more and more schools are
having to close multiple classes or ‘bubbles’, particularly in
areas with higher case numbers, and revert to remote learning.
One school told us that though they were not officially closed, 6
of their 7 year groups were isolating due to Covid.
“The latest data from government on the transmission of the Delta
variant in schools is concerning, and raises serious questions
about the government’s decision to ease some safety measures in
schools last month.
“The government must be proactive to ensure that transmission in
schools, particularly in relation to the new variant, is not
allowed to proceed unchecked. We must not sleepwalk into further
widespread disruption to education.
“We would urge the government to do everything necessary to
protect school communities. 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.
Proactive measures will always be better than reactive ones.
“We have always said that school leaders and their teams should
be vaccinated once the most vulnerable people in society have had
their jabs – which has now happened. It's imperative that school
staff are allowed time away from work to get vaccinated as soon
as possible.”
