absence | Schools Week

More than 1 in 10 pupils absent as isolation rises again

More than one in ten pupils were absent from school last week because of Covid, after the number of pupils self-isolating rose again. According to the Department for Education’s attendance survey data, around 839,100 children, or 11.2 per cent of the total pupil population, were absent from state schools for Covid-related reasons on July 8. […]

Pupils three times more likely to be self-isolating in north-east than London

Secondary pupils in parts of northern England are more than three times as likely to miss classes while they self-isolate as their peers in London, according to new figures. The average pupil between year 7 and year 10 in a sample of north-east schools missed more than a third of their time in school last […]

More than 600,000 pupils off school due to Covid

More than 600,000 pupils were absent last week because of Covid, with around one in ten secondary pupils missing school. New Department for Education attendance survey data estimates 640,100 pupils, or 8.5 per cent of the total pupil population, were off school for Covid-related reasons last Thursday. This a 66 per cent rise from around […]

Covid: Poorer pupils missed 30% more school days last autumn

Poorer pupils missed almost 30 per cent more school days due to Covid in the autumn than their better-off counterparts, new data shows. The Department for Education has updated absences data for the autumn term with statistics broken down by pupil characteristics. It shows pupils eligible for free school meals missed 8.5 per cent of […]

Attendance: 1 in 20 pupils absent due to Covid as isolations soar

More than one in 20 pupils were off school last week due to Covid, with more than a quarter of a million children isolating due to potential contact in school, new data shows. The latest attendance survey data from the Department for Education shows an estimated 384,500 pupils, or 5.1 per cent of pupils, were […]

Covid: Masks still in place and onsite testing returns in ‘Delta’ hotspot schools

Headteachers in “Delta” Covid variant hotspots are “praying” the virus does not rip through their schools again in the coming weeks, with one having to send seven in ten pupils home last half term. Mask rules remain in place in many north-west schools, while some have resumed in-school testing and have hosted temporary vaccine centres. […]

Covid-19: Almost 1 in 3 Bolton secondary pupils absent as Delta variant surges

Attendance data has revealed the scale of Covid-19 disruption to schools in some parts of England, with almost one in three secondary pupils in Bolton absent because of the virus in the last week of term. Data from attendance surveys published by the Department for Education shows 31.5 per cent of secondary pupils and 21.3 […]

Pupils missed 33 million days of in-person education due to Covid last autumn

Pupils missed 33 million days of in-person education because of Covid during the autumn term last year, as schools grappled with the second wave of the pandemic after re-opening. Official figures show the majority – 60 per cent – of pupils saw their schooling affected by the need to self-isolate or shield, often in classes […]

More primary pupils off with suspected Covid, but overall attendance remains high

The number of primary school pupils absent because of a suspected Covid case increased by over 60 per cent last week, according to government attendance survey data. However, only around 1 per cent of pupils nationally were off for Covid-related reasons nationally last week. The latest statistics published by the Department for Education show that […]