Commenting on the government’s latest school attendance figures released today (Tues 19 Oct), which show a further rise in confirmed Covid cases in schools, James Bowen, director of policy for school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“The government cannot just sit back and accept the growing numbers of cases amongst school-age children. We also know that staff are being affected too and that many schools are struggling to stay open with increasing numbers of teachers and support staff testing positive. We now have record numbers of children off with a confirmed case of Covid and it is clear that more needs to be done to control the spread.

“There are a number of things government could and should now be doing with half-term approaching. The delivery of Co2 monitors needs to be accelerated – too many schools are still waiting for these devices to be delivered. We also need the government to be far more proactive about actually improving ventilation. The DfE announced it would be trialling the use of air purifiers in August but we have seen nothing since. Changes should be made to close contact isolation rules so that siblings of those who have tested positive for Covid don’t continue to go into school and infect others. We also need a track and trace system that is working effectively.

“Allowing 12-15-year-olds to attend walk-in vaccination centres is a sensible decision to help speed up the rollout and make sure those who want to get the vaccination can do so as quickly as possible.

“If the government does not act now, there is a clear and obvious risk that disruption to education will only get worse as we head into winter.”