By the week before Christmas nearly 20,000 teachers in England’s state schools were off for “Covid-related reasons”, new government figures reveal.
The data shows coronavirus absence on Wednesday 16 December rose to 4.4 per cent of teachers and school leaders being off work in English state schools.
The latest school workforce data for state schools shows there are around 453,800 teachers working in English state schools - therefore the Covid-related absence on that day would amount to around 20,000 teachers being off work.
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In addition, around 5.9 per cent of “teaching assistants and other staff” were off work for Covid-related reasons - which would amount to an absence of more than 15,000 people, according to the workforce data.
Coronavirus: Teachers off sick or isolating
The figures released today, when broken down, reveal that:
- Just over 4,000 (0.9 per cent) of teachers and school leaders were off work with a confirmed case of coronavirus, and around 3,000 (1.1 per cent) of teaching assistants and other staff were off for this reason.
- Around 10,000 (2.1 per cent of) teachers and school leaders were self-isolating due to contact with a case of coronavirus inside the school, and more than 8,000 (3.1 per cent of) teaching assistants and other staff were self-isolating for the same reason.
- Around 1,800 (0.4 per cent of) teachers and school leaders were off work with a suspected case of coronavirus, while just over 1,000 (0.4 per cent of) teaching assistants and other staff were off for this reason.
- Just under 5,000 (1.1 per cent of) teachers and school leaders were self-isolating due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the school, and around 3,700 (1.4 per cent of) teaching assistants and other staff were off work for this reason.
