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Guidance on capping pupil numbers sought as thousands of schools report 40 per cent attendance

Staff wellbeing Pupil wellbeing Attendance Coronavirus Health & Safety
The high attendance levels in many schools during the current lockdown gives the government the perfect opportunity to understand infection risks ahead of full re-opening, it has been suggested.

However, school leaders are still seeking urgent government guidance on whether in-school numbers should be capped in light of the emerging and more contagious Covid variants.

Thousands of schools have as many as 40 per cent of their pupil cohort in attendance, with headteachers warning that demand for places is continuing to rise during the latest national coronavirus lockdown.

Official figures show that attendance across all state schools in England was up to 14.9 per cent as of Thursday, January 28 – up from 14.1 per cent the week before (DfE, 2021).

However, a snapshot survey by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has found that as many as 2,000 schools have had at least 40 per cent of pupils in attendance since the current lockdown began.

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