REVEALED: Brighton And Hove Primary School Attendance Figures Highest In Country

Brighton and Hove had the highest primary school attendance figures in the country, in figures recorded during the week commencing May 24.

But Peter Shreeve, Assistant District Secretary of the National Education Union has warned of complacency and is calling for face coverings to be reinstated in secondary school classrooms, amid rising Covid cases.

In primary schools, Brighton and Hove saw 97% of pupils attend during the week of May 24, the highest in the country.

Secondary schools had a lower attendance rate, with 79% of children in school — although only 4% of children were off school for Covid related reasons.

Peter Shreeve warned of rising Covid rates in secondary schools in other areas — and called for masks to be reinstated in classrooms to help stop the spread:

“We should recall how rapid the situation can deteriorate and be aware of challenges hovering in other areas. 

“Attendance figures for the week before half-term show troubling levels of Covid-related absence among both pupils and staff in areas affected by the new Delta variant of Covid-19.

“In order to keep face-to-face learning on a sustainable footing, Government must take the rising secondary school case numbers seriously. The requirement for staff and students to wear face coverings should be reinstated, and the encouragement for pupil testing must be kept up. Caution should remain the watch word."