Hertfordshire schools had one in 23 teachers off because of Covid-19 before Christmas

Department for Education that shows schools in Hertfordshire saw one in 23 teachers absent because of coronavirus on just one day before Christmas.

The Association of School and College Leaders said the past few months of the pandemic had put English schools under “enormous pressure”, calling for education staff to be prioritised for the vaccine.

Cllr Terry Douris, Executive Member, Education, Libraries and Localism at Hertfordshire County Council recognises the disruption to education causes difficulties, but says that the health and safety of pupils, staff, families and residents is of utmost importance to the council.

"We recognise that disruption to education causes difficulties, but the health and safety of our pupils, staff, families and residents is of the utmost importance to both the Government and Hertfordshire County Council.”

Department for Education figures show 90 teachers and school leaders in Hertfordshire state schools were absent with either a suspected or confirmed case of Covid-19 on December 17.

There were also 262 forced to isolate.

This means 352 were off for Covid-19 related reasons on just one day – 4.3% of all teachers in schools that remained open.

This was up from 3.8% on the same day the week before, and 1.6% on October 15, the first date the survey was conducted.

On December 17, 97.7% of schools that responded to the survey in Hertfordshire were open.

Across England, 4.4% of teachers and school leaders were absent because of coronavirus on what was the last day of term for many schools.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, said: “The level of staff absence as a result of coronavirus is obviously affected by local infection rates, and the turbulence of the past few months has put schools under enormous pressure.

"It shows why it is important that the Government prioritises education staff in phase two of the rollout of the coronavirus vaccination programme.

"This will provide reassurance to staff and it will minimise further disruption when schools are fully open again."

Pupils in schools and colleges – except children of key workers and vulnerable pupils – have been told to learn remotely until at least mid-February amid the lockdown.

And England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries suggested that a regional approach may be taken when schools do reopen.

Asked by the Commons’ Education Select Committee whether there could be a regional or phased reopening, Dr Harries said: “I think it’s likely that we will have some sort of regional separation of interventions.”

The DfE figures also show 397 (3.6%) teaching assistants and other school staff in Hertfordshire were absent for coronavirus-related reasons on December 17.

Of them, 116 had either a suspected or confirmed case of the disease, and 281 were isolating.

Cllr Terry Douris said: “These are incredibly difficult times for our schools and our young people who are doing a fantastic job in continuing their education remotely during this third period of lockdown.

"We offer our continued thanks to our school Heads and all the school staff for their constant and incredible work in providing education for all our young people, whether it be remotely or in the school premises for vulnerable pupils and children of critical workers.

"We recognise that disruption to education causes difficulties, but the health and safety of our pupils, staff, families and residents is of the utmost importance to both the Government and Hertfordshire County Council.”

The National Association of Head Teachers said the new figures show every school is experiencing the impact of Covid-19 differently, and therefore it was a sensible idea to reopen areas at different speeds.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, added: "If that is the Government’s plan, then we would urge them to provide clarity sooner rather than later on the local conditions that will need to be met.

"This will give vital time to prepare and enable a smoother reopening of schools and businesses.”

A DfE spokeswoman said the Government will keep plans for the return to school under review, but will work to reopen them as soon as possible.