Thousands of Bedford pupils off school because of coronavirus, survey shows

At least 1,700 pupils were absent from Bedford schools on just one day in October, a snapshot Government survey reveals.

With falling attendance rates across England, but lowest in parts of the north, the Association of School and College Leaders is calling for the Government to provide more support and guidance to schools.

The Department for Education's survey of school attendance showed 1,720 pupils were absent from Bedford schools on October 15 – with an overall attendance rate of 92 per cent.

Of these, 60 per cent were absent from secondary schools, 38 per cent from primary schools and around 2 per cent from special schools.

The survey only looked at state-funded schools, of which 79 per cent responded, so it is likely even more pupils were off throughout the area.

The figures, which were placed in the House of Commons library following a written question from MP Margaret Greenwood, showed the total attendance rate across England was 89 per cent – down from 90 per cent a week earlier.

The DfE said up to 412,000 children did not attend school for Covid-19 related reasons, with the majority self-isolating due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus.

More than a fifth of schools said they had one or more pupils self-isolating who had been asked to do so due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the school.

Attendance rates varied greatly across the country. In Bedford, 88 per cent of secondary pupils were in class on October 15.

This was slightly lower than the average across the East of England, of 89 per cent, which was the joint-second highest in England.

With such uneven rates across the country, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the figures show schools are doing a fantastic job under difficult circumstances, but they need more support.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, said: “The Government has to set out clear plans on how next year’s GCSEs and A-levels will be fair to students given that they are being disrupted to a widely differing extent.

"The plans that have been set out so far amount to no more than tinkering at the edges and don’t go anywhere near far enough. Schools and students need a robust plan and they need it now.”

A DfE spokeswoman said schools were expected to provide pupils with remote education when they were self-isolating and headteachers could decide how to use their school’s premium allocation funding to tackle the impact of lost teaching time on pupils.