The percentage of teachers off for Covid-related reasons has nearly doubled in the space of a week, new Department for Education figures show.

Across state-funded schools, Covid-related absence rates among teachers and school leaders rose from 0.9 per cent on 10 June to 1.7 per cent on 17 June.

Meanwhile, the proportion of teaching assistants and other staff off for Covid reasons more than doubled from 0.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

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The percentage of pupils off school due to Covid nearly trebled over the same period.

School staff absences have been increasing since 20 May, the DfE said.

The statistics show that, on 17 June, 0.1 per cent of teachers and school leaders were absent with suspected coronavirus, while 0.2 per cent were off due to a confirmed case, with both levels similar to the previous week.

A further 0.8 per cent were self-isolating following potential contact with a Covid case within the school, up from 0.2 per cent on 10 June.

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Meanwhile, 0.6 per cent of teachers and leaders were self-isolating due to potential contact with the virus outside the school, a rise from 0.5 per cent the week before.

Mary Bousted, joint- general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said: “The SAGE [Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] papers released last week assume that transmission in school can be reduced by 30 per cent with mask-wearing and mass testing.

“We believe it is essential that the government reintroduce these measures to keep school attendance as near to normal as possible.”

A government spokesperson said: “Schools across the country continue to have robust protective measures in place, including regular twice-weekly testing to break chains of transmission and keeping pupils in smaller group bubbles.

“We are also taking additional measures in areas where there is a high prevalence of the virus, including increasing the availability of testing for staff, pupils and families and working with directors of public health on further measures to reduce local transmission. Absence in schools continues to reflect wider community transmission.

“Where students have to self-isolate, schools are providing high-quality remote education.”