The NAHT survey of 2,000 school leaders in England shows that more than a third (36 per cent) had more than 10 per cent of their total staff absent on the first day of term because of Covid-related reasons.
More than a quarter (27 per cent) said they had more than 10 per cent of their teaching staff off due to Covid-related reasons and almost 1 in 10 (9 per cent) said they had more than 20 per cent of their teaching staff absent.
The snap poll also found:
- 95 per cent of respondents had pupils absent from school due to Covid-related reasons. Almost a third (29 per cent) had more than 10 per cent of their pupils absent.
- Half said they are using supply teachers to cover classes due to absence, but over a third were unable to source the supply staff they need, even via agencies.
- Less than 7 per cent reported combining classes or year groups, while 4 per cent said they had to send classes or year groups home.
'This is a very worrying picture'
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said, ‘Schools are doing everything they can to maintain education for pupils in the face of very challenging circumstances. Staff absence on the first day of term was considerable and school leaders have been doing what they can to redeploy teachers and other support staff to avoid being forced to combine classes or send groups home.
‘Given that this is a snapshot of just the first day of term, this is a very worrying picture.
‘Many schools are teetering on the edge and the next few weeks at least will undoubtedly continue to be an incredibly challenging time.
‘School leaders are having to make difficult decisions whilst faced with conflicting priorities. The Government’s clear priority that schools should be kept open is understood. The crisis in available resources will mean that school leaders and their teams will require the unflinching support of Government to achieve this. School leaders need to be free to arrange the delivery of education according to the resources available to them, not on the basis of the normal school week.
‘School leaders need to know that their decisions will be backed by Government. Inspection, unnecessary assessment and the use of league tables are an unhelpful impediment during this moment of crisis.’
Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson accused ministers of ‘treating children as an afterthought’.
She said, ‘These stark figures reveal the extent of the Government’s failure to plan for school staff absences this term.
‘Ventilation, vaccination and testing are key to keeping schools running but the Government’s chaotic mismanagement means tests aren’t available, only half of eligible pupils have been vaccinated, and children are being left to learn in coats next to open windows as temperatures plummet.
‘Again and again our children have been treated as an afterthought by Conservative ministers, seemingly unable to act until it’s too late. It is incompetent, complacent, and inadequate.’
A Department for Education spokesperson said, 'We’ve supported schools to continue classroom learning for pupils through encouraging former teachers to step in and extending the Covid workforce fund for schools that are facing the greatest staffing and funding pressures.
'We’ve also asked schools to have contingency plans to maximise attendance and minimise disruption to learning, should they have high rates of staff absence, and are working with the sector to share case studies of flexible learning models to support the development of those plans.'
