Lancaster and Morecambe teaching union rep questions new government report into impact of Covid on school workforce

The Department for Education this week released data on the impact of coronavirus on the school workforce.

Its report, 'Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak', includes the number of teachers and school leaders, teaching assistants and other staff absent with a confirmed case of coronavirus.

Using this data the National Education Union (NEU) have been able to calculate an estimate for the rate of coronavirus infection amongst school staff.

The data shows that there are much higher Covid rates of infection amongst teachers and other school staff than for the general population.

Sam Ud-din, Lancaster & Morecambe NEU District Secretary, said: "This finding is in contradiction to the reassurances regularly given by the Department and by Public Health England, including by Dr Jenny Harries giving evidence to the Education Select Committee on Tuesday.

"On average the rate of Covid infection is 1.9 times higher amongst primary and secondary teachers than the general population. It is two times higher for special school teachers.

"For teaching assistants and other support staff, the rate of Covid infection is three times higher in primary schools and almost seven times higher in special schools."

The Government has been collecting this information since early October.

Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “These shocking figures raise further very serious questions about the handling of coronavirus in schools.

"What investigations have the Department for Education made into these figures?

"Why have the ministers repeatedly told school staff and the public that there was no reason for concern when these figures indicate that there should have been real concern about the much higher Covid infection rates of teachers and other school staff?

"Why did ministers deny clinically extremely vulnerable staff the right to work from home?

"Why has it taken ministers so long to release this data?

"What mitigating measures will ministers now propose?"

Sam Ud-din added: "What we do have, eventually, mid-week, is another u-turn as it's just been reported that daily testing will NOT be used as a reason for staff who have been in contact with a positive case to continue to attend the workplace, but that self-isolation is again the only safe option."