Coronavirus daily round-up: Wednesday 25 November
Fiona Simpson
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
More than one in five secondary school pupils were absent last week amid an increasing spread of Covid-19 in schools, new Department for Education figures show.
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Each day, CYP Now will summarise the key issues affecting the children and families sector as it tackles the effects of the pandemic. The daily update signposts children’s services practitioners and leaders to the latest developments, expert views, advice and resources.
Increase in school absences
More than one in five secondary school pupils and one in eight primary school pupils were absent from school last week, new figures from the Department for Education show.
Overall, 876,000 pupils did not attend school last week for reasons related to coronavirus, the report states.
Three quarters (73 per cent) of secondary schools had pupils self-isolating up from two thirds (64 per cent) the week before and almost a third of primary schools (29 per cent) had pupils self-isolating, up from a fifth (22 per cent ) the week before.
Rise in children’s homes registrations due to Covid-19
More than 170 children’s homes opened across England between April and September this year “possibly to cope with the additional demand caused by the Covid-19”, Ofsted has said.
Across England, 176 new children’s homes were registered between 1 April 2020 and 31 August - the highest number for that period in any given year on record.
“It is possible that local authorities and other providers have reopened old settings to cope with the additional demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic or due to other increased demand,” Ofsted states in its local authority and children’s homes in England inspections and outcomes autumn 2020 report.
Chancellor prepares to announce spending review
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is today set to announce a one-year spending review focussed solely on helping the UK to recover from Covid-19.
As local authorities face huge deficits, charities are forced to cut staff and youth work services “struggle to stay open”, organisations across the sector each have their own priorities for how next year’s budget should be spent.
PM reassures children ‘Father Christmas is coming’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has moved to reassure worried children that Father Christmas “will be packing his sleigh and delivering presents this Christmas”.
Sharing a letter from an eight-year-old called Monti on Twitter alongside his own reply, Johnson wrote: “I've had lots of letters about this, so I have spoken with experts and can assure you that Father Christmas will be packing his sleigh and delivering presents this Christmas!”
Monti (aged 8) wrote to me asking if Father Christmas will be able to deliver presents this year 🎅🎁🎄
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 25, 2020
I've had lots of letters about this, so I have spoken with experts and can assure you that Father Christmas will be packing his sleigh and delivering presents this Christmas! pic.twitter.com/pXwcjHSxZg
