Number of schools with self isolating pupils surges

There has been an increase in the amount of children absent from school for the week 5-12 November, a rise in the amount of schools with pupils self isolating.

Attendance in state-funded secondary schools for the week 5-12 November is 83%, down from 87%. The drop in attendance is mainly due to the increased number of pupils self-isolating due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus. Attendance in state-funded primary schools is 90%, down from 92%.

On Thursday 12 November, approximately 29% of state-funded schools reported that they had one or more pupils self-isolating due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the school. This is up from 16% on 5 November. This equates to 64% of state-funded secondaries (38% last week) and 22% of state-funded primaries (11% last week). The vast majority of these schools remain open to most pupils.

The average (median) number of pupils isolating per confirmed pupil COVID case within schools has increased from 17 pupils on 5 November to 28 pupils on 12 November. This increase is driven by state-funded secondaries, with an average of 22 pupils isolating on 12 November, up from 11 on 5 November. The increase was much smaller for primaries, with an average of 29 pupils per case of COVID-19 isolating on 12 November, compared to 27 last week. This analysis only includes schools that have reported at least one confirmed COVID case within pupils.