Covid-related school absence has fallen overall but the number of secondary teachers and leaders off due to the coronavirus has risen by nearly a third.
The Department for Education’s latest attendance data, published today, reveals that Covid-related pupil absence in all state-funded schools was 3.9 per cent on 3 February - down from 5.1 per cent on 20 January.
And 9.1 per cent of teachers and school leaders were absent from open schools on 3 February (with 4.4 per cent absent for Covid-related reasons), up slightly from 9 per cent on 20 January.
However, the topline figures mask a rise in Covid-related absence in secondary schools among both students and teachers.
Around 9,132 (3.8 per cent) of teachers and school leaders in secondary state schools were absent for Covid-related reasons on 3 February, a more detailed analysis of the figures reveals.
This figure was up from 2.9 per cent (6,990) on 20 January, the date when government recommendations on wearing masks in secondaries were dropped.
Meanwhile, Covid-related pupil absence in secondaries rose by almost 12 per cent in the same period, up from 130,200 on 20 January to 145,800 on 3 February.
In contrast, primary schools saw a fall in the number of teachers and school leaders absent for Covid reasons - from 14,666 (5.8 per cent) on 20 January to 12,595 (5 per cent) on 3 February.
Covid absence down in primary schools
Pupil absence in primary schools also fell in the same period, from 272,200 on 20 January to 164,200 on 3 February.
This week, a new report by Ofsted revealed that Covid cases and increased pupil anxiety were fuelling school absence last autumn.
The report revealed that this anxiety was often caused by wider pressures - rather than school - during the pandemic.
In December, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi launched a new Attendance Alliance to tackle the underlying causes of pupils being absent from school.
