Commenting on the latest statistics from the Department for
Education on attendance in schools, Kevin Courtney, Joint
General Secretary of the National Education Union,
said:
"The rise in pupil absence is a reminder that Covid-19 is still
with us, still disrupting education and still affecting the
health of education staff. Pupil absences have risen by over 50%
in the past four weeks: more than one in eight pupils are now off
school, while staff absences have also risen significantly.
'The current high absence figures are causing further disruption
to pupils’ education as they try to catch up on missed learning
before the end of the academic year. Catchup funding has never
come close to reaching the levels recommended by the Government’s
own Covid recovery tsar Sir , and the current wave of
infection and absence risks some pupils being left further behind
as they head towards the summer break.
'Government efforts to improve ventilation in classrooms remain
woefully inadequate. The current Covid wave is occurring during
mid-summer, when classroom windows are open and still the absence
rate is high. This is a wake-up call: if the next Covid wave
arrives in winter, transmission and sickness levels are likely to
be much worse unless the DfE gets its act together and properly
funds adequate ventilation in all classrooms."
