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Worsening Covid situation sparks plea over use of rota systems

Government policy Whole-school issues Trade unions Staff wellbeing Pupil wellbeing Coronavirus
The Covid-19 situation in secondary schools has “worsened again very quickly” following the brief half-term respite.

It has led to renewed calls for the government to allow schools to operate rota systems, something that the full re-opening guidance currently forbids (DfE, 2020a).

It comes as the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has confirmed that Covid-19 “prevalence has risen significantly” among school children since the start of term.

Specifically, we have seen “earlier increases and higher prevalence” of infection in secondary-aged students – although SAGE also concludes that the link to school re-opening is “unproven and difficult to establish”.

At the same time, SAGE says that data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for September to mid-October shows “no difference in the positivity rates” of pre-school, primary and secondary school teachers and staff, relative to other workers of similar age.

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