The NASUWT teaching union says it has had “widespread” reports from teachers being denied time off school to have the Covid jab.

The union’s general secretary, Patrick Roach, mentioned the issue in his speech to the union’s annual conference this morning.

And, in a briefing for reporters this afternoon, he told of how he had contacted education secretary Gavin Williamson on the matter, who issued further guidance for schools as a result.

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Dr Roach said: “I wish it was only a one-off but the number of times that [issue] has come across my desk I cannot begin to tell you.

“It has been pretty widespread and I spoke to the secretary of state about it and it led him to actually have to issue some further guidance to schools to say, ‘Frankly, this is a priority.’

Teachers ‘face school barriers in getting Covid vaccine’

“If you’re offered the jab, you get it - end of story. You don’t put barriers in the way of any member of staff, whether it’s a teacher or a member of support staff from being able to access the jab.”

Dr Roach said that schools telling teachers to get the vaccine in their own time was “only going to slow down the system for everybody else”.

He said: “This is an issue that has more than reared its head - North, South, East and West.”

In his speech to conference, Dr Roach said he had listened to teachers’ concerns about “uncaring employers who seek to discipline teachers if they contract Covid or tell teachers they cannot have time off to receive their Covid vaccine jab”.