Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: 23 March to 12 November 2020

The school attendance figures for last week show a shocking increase in the disruption coronavirus is causing to our schools. 

Almost two thirds of secondary schools had pupils self-isolating, up from 38% the week before. And the proportion of primary schools doubled from 11% to 22%. 

More than 600,000 pupils did not attend school for coronavirus related reasons and 1 in 6 secondary pupils were not in school last week. 

Yet again the Government has failed to publish the figures for the number of staff self-isolating. 

Commenting on the latest attendance figures, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:   

“The Government squandered the opportunity to get the level of coronavirus infection down in schools by including them in a circuit breaker.

“They have failed to make testing available quickly enough, done nothing to reduce class sizes to reduce transmission networks and not even begun to prepare for the possible introduction of school rotas.

“Schools and families are now having to deal with the reality of rapidly increasing disruption in schools as coronavirus infection spreads through the school population.”  

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“The government is quite correct to put a high priority on preserving young peoples’ education. We want schools to be open. But the impact of Covid on pupils and schools is clear to see.

“The drop we have seen in attendance in secondary schools this week in particular is a real cause for concern. We remain very concerned about the spread of the virus, particularly amongst older pupils and in secondary schools. There are also worrying signs that older pupils could be playing a role in spreading the virus amongst family members, and this must be watched very closely.”

A summary of attendance in education settings since Monday 23 March and early years settings since Thursday 16 April 2020.

Documents

Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: 23 March to 12 November 2020

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/2020-week-46

Pre-release access list

HTML

Details

Between March 2020 and the end of the summer term, early year settings, schools and colleges were asked to limit attendance to reduce transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19). From the beginning of the autumn term in the 2020 to 2021 academic year, schools were asked to welcome back all pupils to school full-time.

The data on explore education statistics shows attendance in education settings since Monday 23 March 2020, and in early years settings since Thursday 16 April 2020. The summary explains the responses for a set time frame.

The data is collected from a daily education settings status form and a weekly local authority early years survey.

Previously published data and summaries are available at attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Published 17 November 2020