‘Three in 10’ kids out of school as coronavirus crisis escalates

SCHOOLS in Hull and the East Riding have been seriously affected by coronavirus with hundreds of children self-isolating and almost every day, new schools confirming cases among pupils, teachers and staff.

Mike Whale, Hull district secretary for the National Education Union, speaking to David Burns on BBC Radio Humberside, described how roughly “three in every ten children are not able to go into school” due to staff absences or their bubbles needing to self-isolate.

Mr Whale called for schools to be closed to all but the children deemed vulnerable or those of key workers.

“My view, and my union’s view, is it would be best to have a shutting of schools to all but key children and vulnerable children so that, at the very least, schools can reset,” he said.

“The problem is that if that year group has to go home and isolate, then children of key workers or vulnerable children in that group go home.

“Potentially, given the state of Covid in the city, potentially you have the risk that key workers are then not able to go into our hospitals, maintain services and so on, and actually the whole system could grind to a halt.

“The figures are something like that three in every ten children are not able to go into school anyway at the moment because of staff absences or pupils within the bubbles testing positive or coming into contact with people who have tested positive and it is just proving impossible to maintain schools fully open.”