Today, the education and health secretaries have written a joint letter to parents of secondary school and college students emphasising the importance of vaccinations and regular testing.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“It is good that the government are alert to the increasing case numbers of Covid in schools, and are listening when we report the high level of disruption it is causing. It is also right for the government to highlight the importance of regular testing. Regular testing is certainly a sensible part of the response, but we believe that there is more that should be being done.

“The big issue schools are having at the moment is the number of children and staff off sick due to Covid and other illnesses. The government removed ‘bubbles’ and other isolation protocols to try and keep more children in school, but, as we predicted, this seems to be leading to a high number of pupils missing school as a result of becoming ill. The most recent attendance figures show we have record numbers of pupils absent as a result of Covid or suspected Covid and a significant number off with non-Covid related illnesses.

“Our members are particularly concerned about the current guidance relating to siblings and household contacts. At the moment, if a child tests positive for Covid, their siblings can continue to attend school, even if they share a bedroom, for example. Our members say this is actively contributing to the spread of Covid in schools. School leaders want the government to revisit its guidance, particularly when it comes to contact tracing and self-isolation. No one wants to see a child miss any time off school, but there is a real risk that the current policy is inadvertently leading to more children missing school in the long run.

“The letter to parents also refers to the importance of vaccination. The vaccination programme is proceeding slowly in secondary schools. It is important that parents and young people are offered the vaccine as quickly as possible so that they can make their decision about whether to take it.

“Unfortunately, one of the reasons for the slow deployment is that children are missing their chance for vaccination because they have caught Covid. If they are off sick they miss vaccination slots at school – and they cannot be jabbed while they are ill anyway – there is a 28 day waiting period before a child who has had Covid can then have the vaccine.

“We don’t know yet what the take up of the vaccine will be for younger teens – it may never be as high as in the general population. So it is important that other measures are also pursued, such as improved ventilation and reconsidering current guidance on close contact isolation. We also need a track and trace system that is working effectively. This will help both to reduce illness and disruption and to speed up the vaccination rollout.

“It’s not just Covid that is causing children to be off school. There is also the inevitable resurgence of coughs, colds and the usual winter diseases. Some experts are predicting that these illnesses will be worse this year after lying dormant during isolation. Measures such as better ventilation could be effective in helping to minimise the spread of other illnesses too.

“Overall, the government should adopt a precautionary principle. We can’t put all our eggs in one basket in the fight against Covid in schools. Testing is clearly important but it’s not a silver bullet. Investment and guidance needs to be there for all the different measures we have available to us: testing, vaccination, isolation, and ventilation. Only by pursuing a wide-ranging precautionary approach can we prevent illness from continuing to disrupt education this term.”