Education in schools within certain areas has been “completely disrupted” by the sheer amount of Covid absences, Ofsted’s regional bosses have warned.
As the BBC reports, regional directors for the West Midlands and North-West England say rules around self-isolation have significantly affected attendance.
They highlight certain areas where hundreds of students are off school and self-isolating at any one time. Some pupils end up self-isolating again and again.
Ofsted said that certain regions will have experienced relatively little impact this term.
Recent attendance figures for England show that 22% of secondary school pupils were absent from class on the 26th November. This was the same as the previous week, when data showed that pupils were being sent home in 75% of schools.
James McNeillie, who oversees West Midlands for Ofsted, attends regular meetings with head teacher groups.
He commented: “I had one head teacher with schools in Dudley and Sandwell. Across three schools, there were 1,000 pupils self-isolating and 14 members of staff self-isolating.
“And he told me he had dealt with four Covid cases by 10 in the morning.
“That’s the kind of messages we are getting about the impact on pupils and teachers.”
Andrew Cook, who looks after the North-West England region – which has experienced some of the country’s highest Covid rates – said there were serious concerns over attendance in regions like Liverpool, Oldham and Greater Manchester.
“There are schools where 40% of staff are off – either self-isolating or having tested positive. The huge impact of self-isolation has a significant impact on attendance.
“Schools are struggling because the number of staff they have had to send home – that impacts their ability to keep schools open.”
Cook added that the pupils who were regularly absent – which tended to be children who were most vulnerable before the pandemic – were starting to stray away again.
He also said that confidence among parents when cases or suspected cases emerged was often being ‘shaken’.
“The impact on education is going to be significant,” he said. “There will be some schools that have been hit hardest and with repeated episodes and that is going to completely disrupt their learning.”
Though, he said schools had worked very hard to offer learning online. Both directors thanked teachers and heads, saying they had done amazing jobs and are continuing to do so.
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