Commenting as the latest school attendance figures from the government show not just another increase in the number of children self-isolating due to contact with Covid in school, but also a huge increase in confirmed Covid cases, Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said:

“These latest figures make for grim reading and show that the delta variant is having a huge impact on schools. Whilst the government might argue that scrapping bubbles and changing rules around self-isolation will reduce the number of pupils missing education, we should be equally worried about the significant rise we have seen in confirmed and suspected cases in a single week. These latest figures only serves to demonstrate why the government must take urgent action and put alternative measures in place to keep school communities safe. Simply hoping the problem will go away is not a realistic option.”