Schools: Coronavirus

(asked on 22nd March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of increased covid-19 related school absences on pupils' learning in (a) England, (b) Cheshire West and Chester and (c) Halton; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce transmission of that virus in schools.


Answered by
Robin Walker Portrait
Robin Walker
This question was answered on 30th March 2022

The latest attendance data shows that, nationally, pupil absence in state-funded schools related to COVID-19 was 2.5% on 17 March 2022, up from 0.7% on 3 March 2022. Attendance was 89.7% on 17 March, down from 92.2% on 3 March.

COVID-19 related absence is down from 3.9% on 3 February, and attendance is up from 87.8% on 3 February.

The department no longer publishes data at constituency level and therefore cannot make an assessment of the impact of absences in Cheshire West and Chester, or Halton.

In relation to the impact of absence related to COVID-19 on children’s education, research shows that any absence from school negatively impacts education, well-being and development. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is clear that it is a high priority to bring children who have been absent back into school so that they can access the £5 billion recovery funding which has been designed to support children to regain what they have lost through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the department is working urgently with practice leaders across school, local authorities, the police, the health and social care sectors and charity sector in an Attendance Alliance to urgently identify ways to improve school attendance. Further details about that work can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/attendance-alliance-group.

The department is also in the process of reviewing the school attendance system as a whole. We have recently consulted on proposals aimed at transforming the consistency and quality of attendance support for families across England.

In relation to the measures the department is taking at national level to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in schools, these include a large vaccination programme for children, the provision of CO2 monitors backed by £25 million in government funding, funding for ventilation solutions where ventilation in classrooms is poor, and the promotion of good hand hygiene.

Additionally, individual schools should have in place emergency plans outlining how they would operate to minimise disruption to face-to-face education and protect the most vulnerable in the event of an outbreak of infection. The current guidance for schools is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

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