Pupil attendance ‘in crisis’ amid rise in entire classes sent home to self-isolate

WHOLE classes are being sent home to self-isolate in more than a quarter of schools, figures show, as pupil attendance continues to drop.

Last week, 25 to 27 per cent of schools across England had 30 or more pupils isolating due to potential contact with a positive case of Covid inside the school.

The figure has increased for two consecutive weeks, up from eight to nine per cent on Nov 5, and 18 to 20 per cent on Nov 12.

The data, released by the Department for Education, also show that nearly three quarters of secondary schools had at least one pupil self-isolating at home, with overall pupil attendance dropping from 83 per cent to 78 per cent in a week.

The disclosure was made days after Boris Johnson announced he would scrap mandatory 14-day self-isolation for contacts of positive Covid-19 cases, a system described by his own advisers as “massively ineffective and hated”.

Instead, contacts of those who test positive will be asked to undergo daily tests for seven days and allowed to go about their business in the meantime.

The change is likely to have a welcome impact upon school attendance, which has suffered significantly since pupils returned to the classroom fulltime in September. In several cases, a whole year group of 200 students were ordered to self-isolate for 14 days after just one child tested positive.

One parent previously told this newspaper that the heavy-handed approach was “a sinister game of musical chairs”.

Education unions have called for greater support from the Government to help schools cope, adding that the current situation has “reached a crisis point”.

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “This collapse in school attendance is the direct result of the Government’s negligence. Schools and teachers are working incredibly hard to keep the system running without any support or resources from the Government.

“The situation has reached a crisis point and the Government cannot let coronavirus run riot in schools any longer.”

A DFE spokeswoman said: “Everyone must continue to play their part in driving down cases across society, helping keep education open, in light of the damage of closures to children’s education, development and mental health.”