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More than 400,000 children in England missed school last week for coronavirus-related reasons, as the government admitted that “inequality” in learning loss could affect 2021 test scores.
Weekly attendance statistics from the Department of Education (DfE) estimated that up to 5% of the 8.3 million pupils in England’s state schools lost time in the classroom, including 50,000 with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 cases.
The number of schools that had to close completely increased by 50% compared to the previous week, and an estimated 60 have closed, affecting at least 12,000 students, the statistics showed.
Figures from the DfE, based on daily results from principals, found that more than 350,000 students were out of school due to possible contact with someone with Covid-19. “Unsurprisingly, a small proportion of students isolate themselves, but this is similar to the previous weeks and the average group size is small compared to the total number of students,” said a DfE spokesperson.
But Julie McCulloch, policy director for the Association of School and University Leaders, said: “The fact that almost half of high schools have registered one or more self-isolating students due to the protocols required by the Covid pandemic illustrates the continuing high level of disruption they are dealing with. ”
McCulloch said schools with Covid-19 outbreaks had received “patchy” advice from the DfE hotline and the government had failed to deliver on its promise to offer readily available public health advice.
Figures from the DfE showed that high school attendance declined further last week, with only 86% of students present, compared to 87% the week before, raising fears that the results of the 2021 exam become a lottery according to the exposure of each student.
Nick Gibb, England’s minister for school standards, told MPs on the parliament’s education committee that the A-level and GCSE grades would have to be adjusted to reflect “lost learning”, but defended the government’s decision to move on. with exams only a three-week late.
But he said: “The other issue that really concerns me, more than any other issue that we have to grapple with right now, is injustice and inequality, where different students have different experiences of lack of education during this period.
“That is something that we are working with the review boards and through Ofqual to try to address; it is not an easy subject to address, but it is something that concerns me very much.”
Gibb was challenged by shortcomings in the government’s laptop scheme for underprivileged children, which some MPs felt had not gone far enough. On the other hand, the minister resisted pleas to continue with free school meals during the holidays, saying that families with financial difficulties would receive help with universal credit.
