Commenting as the government publishes the latest school attendance figures, which show a drop in the number of pupils in school in July, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“This matches what we have been hearing from our members. Covid has absolutely not gone away, and in fact we are hearing that cases have been on the rise again recently – in line with numbers nationally.

“While the summer holidays are coming up soon, there is already worry about the autumn and winter. The government can’t just leave schools to it in dealing with Covid. Learners need and deserve better than that. We need a proper plan for how to live with it long-term that is focused on keeping levels low and reducing disruption.”