The number of children off school because of restrictions put in place to manage a Covid outbreak has doubled in a fortnight, new figures show.
Around 34,000 pupils were absent from open schools due to Covid-related attendance restrictions on March 17 and increase from 17,000 two weeks previously.
It comes as new data from the Department for Education showed a slight drop in the number of pupils absent for Covid related reasons but there has been an increase in overall school absence levels.
Teachers warned the situation in schools remains grave and they are coping with “very severe disruption”.
They criticised the government’s decision to withdraw free testing for pupils and urged Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi to reinstate free lateral flow tests for pupils and staff.
Tuesday’s figures showed 179,000 (2.2 per cent) of pupils were off school due to Covid on March 31, down from 202,000 (2.5) per cent on March 17.
But overall attendance rates in state schools dropped from 89.7 per cent to 88.6 per cent.
At 40 per cent of state schools, up to five per cent of teachers and headteachers were absent – up from 37 per cent two weeks previously.
Of the 179,000 pupils absent due to Covid, 120,000 had a confirmed case of the virus and 16,000 had a suspected case.
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It is very difficult to operate in these conditions. The government’s decision to withdraw free testing in such circumstances is a retrograde step, particularly with exams a few weeks away, and we have repeatedly urged ministers to reconsider.
“We understand the government’s desire to declare Covid over and done with, but that is simply not the reality in schools and colleges, where the illness continues to be a real problem because of the impact on both pupils and the workforce.
“This impact is not only disruptive in terms of education. Covid symptoms may be relatively mild in some individuals, but this is not always the case, and the government should have more care for the millions of people who work and study in our schools and colleges.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “We continue to hear a sense of deep frustration from school leaders as they struggle to deal with the significant and on-going disruption caused by Covid – whilst the government removes every measure they have for controlling it.
“We all assumed ‘living with Covid’ meant there would be very low case levels – this is clearly not case and absence rates remain at concerningly high-levels.
“School leaders feel they have been abandoned. The ongoing risk of illness and chaos caused by staff absence, not to mention the mounting pressure of exams, SATs and Ofsted, is unsustainable. Our members and education are at breaking point.”
Jon Andrews, head of analysis at the Education Policy Institute (EPI), said: “Pupil and staff absences continue to cause disruption and it is likely that the effects will be inconsistent between schools. This raises questions about how the Department for Education and Ofsted should interpret school performance measures for this year."
Both Mr Barton and Mr Whiteman have written an open letter to Mr Zahawi saying their members had reported greater Covid-related disruption in their schools and colleges over the last few weeks "than at any previous point during the pandemic" and that for many members it could prove the "final straw".
It added "in the face of this extensive and ongoing disruption" the decision to remove free Covid lateral flow tests for nearly all pupils and staff "feels reckless in the extreme".
