Commenting on the government’s latest release of school attendance data, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, which represents leaders in the majority of schools, said:

“We know from our members that the national attendance figures mask huge regional differences due to the prevalence of the Delta variant in some areas. We are hearing that there has been a big increase in outbreaks in some places. One school told us that “We have seen more positive Covid cases in our school and its wider community in the last 10 days than we have seen in the previous 440 days of the pandemic.”

“Given the current situation, the government really had no other option than to keep existing safety measures in place in schools. Relaxing them at this stage would have been reckless, to say the least.

“What the government needs to do now is starting talking to schools about September. School leaders are already thinking about plans for the start of the next term. While it is obviously difficult to predict precisely how the situation will evolve in the coming months, the government cannot simply assume that things will be ‘back to normal’. Schools need to know what possible scenarios to plan for, and they need to know well before the summer break so that they can put the necessary arrangements in place.

“Silence from the government will only lead to further disruption to the quality and continuity of young people’s education.”

Press and Media contacts:

Steven George
NAHT Head of Press and Media
01444 472886
07970 907730

Rose Tremlett 
Senior Press Officer 
07545 354363

Email : press.office@naht.org.uk