Dear Secretary of State,

RE: Summer action plan to tackle winter Covid absences in schools

I am writing regarding winter Covid disruption and illness in schools and calling for the Government to undertake a series of actions over summer to protect learning and health in the winter.

The latest figures from the Department for Education in relation to attendance levels are extremely concerning and indicate that there will be a challenge to maintain high attendance during the winter especially with expected larger waves of Covid infections.

Some of the measures that Department for Education could take include:

• Improving ventilation in schools. The severe heatwave last week further highlights the importance of sufficient ventilation systems in schools
• Providing HEPA air filtration devices to all schools for September as an immediate measure while schools improve their ventilation with only 1287 schools out of a total of 24,413 in England have been provided with air filters
• Committing to fund supply costs to cover teaching and support staff
• Making lateral flow tests available for free in education settings

I believe that this an urgent issue and Government must act given the level of educational disruption and illness this virus can still cause, and with education staff having among the highest rates of Long Covid according to the Office of National Statistics.

Yours sincerely,

Marsha de Cordova MP