Absence through illness in primary schools was as high last week as it was during the peak of the Omicron Covid wave, new data suggests.
Figures from the FFT Datalab’s attendance tracker show that 7.1 per cent of sessions last week were missed through illness in primary schools.
The only time it has recorded this many sessions being missed in primary schools through illness since the start of the last academic year was at the end of January 2022, as the Omicron variant of Covid swept through schools.
FFT’s data from 10,000 schools also shows that missed sessions owing to illness absences for the week ending 9 December were higher in both primary and secondary school than at the same time last year.
Among secondary school pupils, 7.8 per cent of sessions were missed compared with 5.3 per cent at the same point in 2021. In primary schools, 7.1 per cent of sessions were missed through illness compared with 4.7 per cent last year.
Last week’s figures show that schools are currently seeing the highest rates of sessions missed through illness since the start of this academic year.
The absence also represents the joint highest seen in primary and one of the highest levels seen in secondary since the start of the previous academic year.
In a new blog post analysing the data, FFT Datalab’s Katie Beynon and Dave Thomson point out that over the course of the autumn term overall absence was lower this year than last year.
This year, 6 per cent of sessions in primary schools were missed compared with 7 per cent in 2021. At secondary, the figures were 8.6 per cent this term compared with 9.8 for secondary.
However, they add that absence was still higher than pre-pandemic figures - of around 4.3 per cent sessions missed in primary and 5.6 per cent in secondary.
They add: “There was a big week-on-week increase in the most recent week (ending 9 December) that we didn’t see last year. However, there was a big week-on-week increase in the final week of term last year.”
From a regional perspective, the South West and South East saw particularly big rises in sessions missed through illness. The North of England - the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber - saw lower increases in absences.
However, the FFT blog adds that all regions have had more absence than the levels seen before the pandemic.
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Many schools and colleges have been hit by a wave of illnesses over the past few weeks affecting pupils and staff.
“These illnesses include Strep A and scarlet fever, Covid-19, flu, and winter colds. Schools and colleges have managed this situation as best they can, but it is obviously worrying in terms of both health and the impact on education.”
Mr Barton said the government announcing more CO2 monitors and air cleaning units to schools was a step in the right direction.
He added: “But we have repeatedly made the point that it should invest more in updating and modernising school buildings to improve ventilation as this is a proven method of reducing the risk of transmission and will pay dividends by preventing illness and disruption.”
James Bowen, director of policy for school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “There does appear to be an unusually high level of illness around at the moment, with various viruses circulating - that’s certainly having an impact on school attendance.”
Regarding the impact on attainment, a study by the University of Strathclyde in May found that excused absences, such as sickness or exceptional domestic circumstances, are “equally detrimental to achievement” as non-excused absences or truancy.
In September, the government introduced a new national dashboard, where schools can compare absences, including the reasons why pupils are missing school.
