The number of critical workers’ children in school has surged by 45,000 in the past week, according to new government data.

The data shows that attendance has increased among both children of critical workers and vulnerable children, with approximately 895,000 children of critical workers in attendance on 4 February, up from 820,000 on 13 January and 850,000 on 28 January.

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Overall pupil numbers have also increased, with 15.9 per cent of pupils in attendance in all state schools, compared with 14.9 per cent the week before.

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Attendance was 23 per cent in state-funded primary schools, 5 per cent in state-funded secondary schools and 35 per cent in state-funded special schools on 4 February.

Attendance has increased in primary and special schools, where attendance was 21 per cent and 30 per cent respectively on 13 January, while attendance in state-funded secondary schools remained the same.

In January, headteachers warned that the government had put schools in an “impossible” position through a failure to more tightly define key workers.

And at the start of term, heads predicted that more pupils would be attending school than during the March 2020 lockdown, prompting fears about social distancing and staff shortages.