Pupil absence rate in NI schools lowest since mid-November

There were more pupils in school in the first full week of the new term in 2022 than at any point since mid-November 2021.

That is according to the most recent attendance records published by the Department of Education.

Primary and grammar schools had the highest number of pupils in school during the week beginning Monday 10 January.

Just over 2% of children were off sick with Covid-19 during the week.

Separate figures previously released by the department, though, showed that more than half of schools had teachers absent due to Covid-19 or self-isolation during the week of 10-14 January.

The department's statistics are based on electronic attendance reports from schools in Northern Ireland.

The attendance figures for 10-14 of January showed 88.6% of pupils were in school, the highest percentage since the week beginning 15 November.

A further 1.7% of pupils were learning from home so they were not marked as absent.

However, 2.1% of pupils were absent due to a confirmed case of Covid-19, although most pupil absences were for reasons other than Covid.

The latest attendance figures also showed a variation across school types, with attendance rates lowest in special schools.

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About 80% of pupils were in special schools in the first full week of term, although the majority of absences were not down to Covid-19.

Some special schools have been hit particularly hard by staff shortages, which led to an appeal for substitute teachers to provide emergency cover before half-term in October 2021.

A minority of other schools have also had to send some classes home for remote learning on specific days due to staff being off sick and difficulty in getting substitute teacher cover.