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One in 30 primary pupils in England off school for Covid-related reasons, DfE figures show
One in every 30 primary school pupils in England was absent from the classroom last week for Covid-related reasons, according to government statistics that reveal how younger children had become the most affected even before the spread of the Omicron variant.
The figures released by the Department for Education showed that a record 146,000 primary school pupils were absent from on 9 December, or 3.3%, with the total including a record 65,900 off with confirmed cases of Covid. A further 56,700 were off with suspected cases.
The figures suggest that while vaccinations and measures such as mask-wearing may be keeping infections down in secondary schools, primary school-aged children are now the most vulnerable cohort.
While 1.3% of secondary school pupils were off with a confirmed case of Covid, the rate was 1.5% for primary school pupils. But before the October half-term break, confirmed cases in secondary schools were more than double those in primaries.
The data also revealed that increasing numbers of teachers are absent for Covid-related…
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