Figures show coronavirus is still affecting school attendances
The proportion of pupils attending schools last week dropped slightly as more children were forced to selfisolate at home, new Government figures show.
Department for Education (DfE) statistics show about 93% of pupils were in class on April 29 – down from 94% on April 22.
In secondary schools, 90% of pupils were in class last week, down from 91% in the previous week, while attendance in primary schools fell from 96% to 95%.
The data suggests that 67,000 pupils were out of class and self-isolating on Thursday last week due to potential contactwith a case of corona virus.
The DfE estimates that approximately one per cent of all pupils - up to 83,000 children - did not attend school for Covid-related reasons on April 29, a rise from 0.6% - 52,000 children - on April 22.
Last week, 47,000 pupils were self-isolating due to a potential contact with a Covid-19 case from inside the educational setting, up from 25,000 on April 22. A further 20,000 pupils were self-isolating due to a possible contact outside school, up from 18,000 the previous week.
Meanwhile, 12,000 pupils were absent because they suspected they had Covid-19, up from 7,000, and 3,000 were off after testing positive for Covid-19, up from 2,000.
A DfE spokeswoman said: "Attendance in schools remains consistently high, showing the continued importance of the rapid testing programme for all staff, families and secondary pupils in helping keep the virus out of classrooms.
"It is vital pupils and staff continue to test regularly as we continue on the road back to greater normality."