As reported by TES magazine, new figures show teachers and staff in education now have the joint highest incidences of long COVID
Cases of long COVID in the education sector have been on the rise for months and now equal those in social care.
School leaders have described the new numbers as “very concerning”, pointing to the impact on catch-up work and school budgets, as a result of the potential need for extended periods of supply cover.
The number of education staff self-reporting long COVID symptoms rose by over 15% between December 2021 and January 2022, from 3.09% to 3.79% of the total workforce.
The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has revealed the sector saw the highest rise among other listed occupational groups in the four weeks of 2022.
The ONS estimated that 3.79% of the education and social care sector have been living with self-reported long COVID of any duration, more than the healthcare sector (3.69%).
Of those teaching and education staff who have had COVID at least a year previously, those suffering from long COVID has also risen from 1.32% to 1.64%.
ONS’s latest data reflects the aftermath of the December Omicron wave, the full effects of which are still unclear.
At the end of 31 January 2022, an estimated 1.5 million people living in private households in the UK (2.4% of the population) were experiencing self-reported long COVID.
Long COVID symptoms are defined by the ONS as those which have persisted for more than four weeks after the first infection. This can include chronic fatigue, breathlessness, loss of taste and smell, and heart palpitations.
Further data published by ONS in February 2022 also revealed that primary school-aged children with long COVID were far more likely to have a mental disorder than those without.
In 2021 year, the NASUWT teaching union started to campaign for recognition of long COVID as a disability under the Equalities Act.
Director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Julie McCulloch, said the news came “as little surprise”.
McCulloch continued, “we are worried about the impact of long COVID on leaders, teachers and support staff, all of whom have worked tirelessly over the last two years, and are now running on empty.
“The government needs to recognise the ongoing impact of the pandemic on everyone working in our schools and colleges, and to do everything they can to support them.”
The union has been concerned about the effect of staff absences caused by long COVID, on educational recovery and funding, with the extra supply cover needed coming “at great expense”.
In addition to this, McCulloch believes the bar for access to the COVID workforce fund, which has been extended to April, is “set far too high” and as a result, many schools will not get the funding they need.
“It should be made available as widely as possible and without so many hoops to jump through,” she said. “The government should be providing more support to schools and colleges with these costs in such extraordinary circumstances rather than putting obstacles in their way.”
James Bowen, director of policy at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that the latest reports are “very concerning” but “not surprising”.
As well as other impacts, Mr Bowen insisted his main concern was for the health of the school staff affected by long COVID.
“While individuals are affected differently, we have already seen that for some, it can be many weeks or months before they are well enough to return to the classroom,” he said.
“Clearly, this will also pose challenges for schools and school leaders, and we know that they trying to cope with higher than normal levels of staff absence.”
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