Long Covid rates among teachers and other education staff are now the joint highest of any listed occupational group, new figures reveal.
Incidences of long Covid in the teaching and education sector were already rising faster than any other sector, and are now equal with the social care sector.
School leaders have called the latest figures “very concerning” and - along with concerns for the staff experiencing long Covid - highlight the wider potential effects on catch-up work and school budgets, owing to the need for extended periods of supply cover.
The number of teachers and other education staff self-reporting long Covid symptoms rose by over a fifth between December 2021 to January 2022, from 3.09 per cent to 3.79 per cent of the workforce.
The sector saw the highest increase among other listed occupational groups in the four weeks in January 2022, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data revealed.
The ONS estimated that 3.79 per cent of both the teaching and education sector and social care sector were living with self-reported long Covid of any duration, above the healthcare sector (3.69 per cent).
The number of teaching and education staff suffering from long Covid who had Covid at least 12 months previously also rose from 1.32 per cent to 1.64 per cent.
In today’s data release, the ONS said the high number of cases of long Covid in these jobs was “likely reflecting increased exposure to Covid-19 in these sectors”.
The data released this month reflects the aftermath of the December wave of the Omicron variant, the full effects of which are still unclear.
As of 31 January 2022, an estimated 1.5 million people living in private households in the UK (2.4 per cent of the population) were experiencing self-reported long Covid.
The ONS defines self-reported long Covid as symptoms persisting for more than four weeks after the first suspected coronavirus infection that could not be explained by something else.
Long Covid symptoms can include brain fog, chronic fatigue, breathlessness, loss of taste and smell, and heart palpitations.
Last month, ONS data also revealed that primary school-aged children with long Covid were significantly more likely to have a mental disorder than those without.
Last year, the NASUWT teaching union began a campaign calling for recognition of long Covid as a disability under the Equalities Act.
Data comes as ‘little surprise’
Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the news comes “as little surprise” because of the high number of Covid cases in schools in the past.
“We are worried about the impact of long Covid on leaders, teachers and support staff, all of whom have worked tirelessly over the last two years, and are now running on empty.
“The government needs to recognise the ongoing impact of the pandemic on everyone working in our schools and colleges, and to do everything they can to support them.”
Ms McCulloch added that the union was concerned about the effect of staff absence owing to long Covid on educational recovery and funding, as extra supply cover was needed “at great expense”.
She also said the bar for access to the Covid workforce fund, which has been extended to April, is “set far too high”, meaning many schools will miss out on funding.
“It should be made available as widely as possible and without so many hoops to jump through,” she said. “The government should be providing more support to schools and colleges with these costs in such extraordinary circumstances rather than putting obstacles in their way.”
Increase is ‘very concerning’
James Bowen, director of policy at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that the reported increase in long Covid cases in the sector was “very concerning” but “not surprising”.
Mr Bowen added that the primary concern was for the health of the school staff affected by long Covid.
“While individuals are affected differently, we have already seen that for some, it can be many weeks or months before they are well enough to return to the classroom,” he said.
“Clearly, this will also pose challenges for schools and school leaders, and we know that they trying to cope with higher than normal levels of staff absence.”
