The latest attendance figures (DfE, 2022) show that fewer pupils are off school for Covid-related reasons. However, teacher absences continue to rise albeit very slowly.
More than nine in every 100 teachers and school leaders are off for Covid-related reasons, including four in 100 who have a confirmed case.
And almost one quarter of state-funded schools report having 15% of teachers and leaders off.
It comes as new data from Schools North East shows that in January three-quarters of schools in the region reported staffing levels below 90%, dropping to 80% in a quarter of schools.
A statement from Schools North East, which is a schools-led regional network representing 1,150 schools in the region, said: “Throughout January, many schools have been in ‘crisis management’ mode. Staff are being taken away from regular teaching, with the curriculum being continually adapted to meet the changing demands of Covid. Schools are not yet back to ‘normal’, and it is important that the narrative around ‘recovery’ changes to take this into account.
“Despite the efforts of staff, it is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver the education that they want for their students, and we need more honesty about the challenges schools face.”
And into February, the challenges are continuing. The latest attendance figures show that 48,000 teachers and school leaders (9.1%) were absent from schools on February 3, up slightly from 47,000 (9%) on January 20. This includes 4.1% with a confirmed case of Covid.
Meanwhile, 64,000 teaching assistants and support staff (9%) were off on February 3, down from 67,000 (9.4%) on January 20. This includes 3.7% with a confirmed case of Covid.
Within these figures, 23% of all state-funded schools (4,900) had more than 15% of their teachers and school leaders absent on February 3, including 4,100 primary schools and 400 secondaries.
And 19% of schools (4,100) had more than 15% of their teaching assistants and support staff off (including 3,400 primaries and 200 secondaries).
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that the “major headache” for many schools was still one of “trying to plug the gaps left by having almost a tenth of their teaching staff absent”.
He added: “The latest attendance statistics bear witness to absence levels that continue to pile enormous pressure on schools. Almost a quarter of schools had more than 15% of their teaching staff absent last week, with many having no option other than to continue to spend more of their dwindling budgets on supply staff, assuming that suitable staff are available. The government needs to acknowledge that this issue is not going away and provide schools with sufficient financial assistance to meet this costly drain on their budgets.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, added: “It is very clear that we are still a long way from business as usual in schools; school leaders and their staff are still having to manage a very challenging situation. Given that, it is immensely frustrating that government seems determined to just press ahead with things such as Ofsted inspections and SATs tests as if it’s virtually a normal year.”
When it comes to young people, the figures were more positive, showing that while 320,000 pupils (3.9%) in state-funded schools were off for Covid-related reasons on February 3, this was down from 415,000 (5.1%) on January 20.
This includes 34,000 pupils with a suspected case of coronavirus (down from 52,000) and 250,000 pupils with a confirmed case (down from 322,000).
It meant that attendance in primary schools was up to 91.9% on February 3 (compared to 89.1% two weeks previously). In secondary schools, attendance stood at 86.2% on February 3, up from 85.9%.
- DfE: Week 6: Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, February 2022: https://bit.ly/3rzCYnC