Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on levels of school attendance in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
?It is a priority for the Department to keep a close track of the situation in schools regarding suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. The Department collects data from schools on a daily basis, gathers information from local areas and follows up with individual settings. This is also to confirm that procedures for requiring pupils to isolate are well understood and that necessary decisions are made on the basis of public health advice.
?Information for school attendance during the COVID-19 outbreak can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. On 22 October 2020, approximately 90% of pupils on roll in state-funded primary schools were in attendance, and approximately 82% of pupils on roll in state-funded secondary schools were in attendance. These estimates exclude schools on half term or inset days.