Nursery World - Covid cases on the decline in childcare settings and schools, official figures suggest

The number of early years staff absent from work because of Covid-19 has dropped slightly, reveal DfE figures for the end of January.

DfE statistics suggest fewer staff and children were absent from early years settings at the start of February PHOTO Adobe Stock

The latest data from the Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus pandemic, reveal that on 26 January, 12 per cent of paid staff were absent from work for Covid-related reasons, down from 14 per cent a week earlier (14 per cent).

The percentage of children attending childcare also slightly increased on 26 January as did the percentage of open settings. On 31 January, 95 per cent of settings, who responded to the DfE’s weekly ‘Pulse’ survey were fully open, slightly up from 93 per cent the week prior.

However as fewer providers responded to the latest survey, 1,060 compared to 1,952 the week prior, the figures are not directly comparable.

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