Schools in England will be allowed to take an inset day on Friday next week so teachers do not have to engage with track and trace issues on Christmas Eve, a minister has suggested.
Schools Standards Minister Nick Gibb told MPs that the Government wants to ensure school staff have a break from identifying potential coronavirus cases.
Speaking to a virtual Education Select Committee, Mr Gibb said: “We are about to announce that inset days can be used on Friday December 18, even if an inset day had not been originally scheduled for that day.
“We want there to be a clear six days so that by the time we reach Christmas Eve staff can have a proper break without having to engage in the track and trace issues.”
The number of schools in England with at least one pupil self-isolating at home last week due to potential contact with coronavirus has fallen, Government figures show.
Nearly a fifth (19%) of secondary school pupils were absent from class on December 3, which is down from 22% the week before, the Department for Education (DfE) statistics reveal.
In primary schools, pupil attendance has risen from 88% to 90% last week.
Approximately between 7% and 8% of state school pupils – up to 650,000 children – did not attend school for Covid-19-related reasons on Thursday.
More than a quarter (28%) of schools reported they had one or more pupils self-isolating who were told to do so due to potential contact with a Covid-19 case inside the school on December 3, down from 33% the week before.
