The proportion of pupils out of school for Covid-19-related reasons in England fell after the October half term, new government figures show.
The Department for Education estimates 1.6 per cent of all pupils - around 130,000 children - did not attend class for Covid-related reasons on November 11, down from 3.2 per cent - around 248,000 children - three weeks before.
Headteachers have said the October half term provided a “natural circuit breaker” in stemming case rates, but urged the government to take action to ensure that the fall in cases was not simply a “blip”.
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School leaders also called for more funding to improve school ventilation systems, and pointed out that while the attendance figures were an improvement they remained lower than those seen in a “normal year”.
Among pupils absent for Covid-19 reasons, the main reason was a confirmed case of coronavirus, with around 67,000 pupils off for this reason compared to 127,000 on October 21.
And approximately 50,000 were off with a suspected case, down from around 87,000 three weeks before.
About 9,000 were absent due to isolation for other reasons, down from around 15,000 on October 21.
A further 4,000 pupils were off due to attendance restrictions being in place to manage an outbreak, down from around 12,000 three weeks before, the government figures show.
Overall, some 91.5 per cent of students were in class on November 11, which was up from 88.2 per cent on October 21.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It is a relief to finally see positive progress on school attendance after months of severe disruption to education caused by the coronavirus, but the latest figures indicate we are not out of the woods yet and that the government has more work to do.
“The natural circuit breaker afforded by the half term holiday seems to have had a positive effect on infection rates among both students and school staff, whilst the vaccination programme for 12- to 15-year-olds is also playing its part.
“It has taken much longer than the government anticipated to reach the stage where a million young people have been vaccinated and there must now be a concerted push to complete the job.
“Encouraging those who haven’t yet been vaccinated to get their jab and asking all students to continue Covid testing at home must remain the government’s focus.
“But it must also now provide funding for high-quality ventilation systems that schools and colleges need. Asking them to simply open more doors and windows is not a viable solution as outdoor temperatures plummet.”
James Bowen, director of policy for the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “These latest figures appear to show the ‘half term effect’ that some were anticipating, although attendance remains lower than it would be in a ‘normal’ year.
“As predicted, schools being closed for a week does appear to have had an impact on the number of cases among pupils and so attendance levels at the start of the new half term have improved. It’s important not to over-interpret short term data, but this does appear to belie the suggestion from some that schools are not playing a key role in Covid transmission.
“The government now needs to do everything possible to make this the start of a downward trend and not merely a blip before cases start to rise again.
“Last half term there was a sense that government was simply sitting back and watching Covid numbers rise - we do not want to see that again this half term.
“Once again we reiterate our calls for better support for schools that need to improve ventilation, a change to the guidance on self-isolation for siblings, and financial support for schools that are struggling with increasing supply costs.”
