There is a clear and sustained rise in Covid-19 cases. We now have evidence it is spreading in schools. It is inhumane and cruel to expect families who are at an increased risk of severe Covid-19, or increased SEND/anxiety, to choose between fines/prosecution, risking their health, or deregistering.
You may be interested in these active petitions
There are hundreds of families across the country who are currently being forced to choose between their health, lives and their children's ability to attend school. Where a family has a parent or child who is at an increased risk of severe Covid-19, or where a child has SEND/anxiety preventing them from accessing education due to the transmission risk, it should be open for school leaders to make an informed decision (having considered safeguarding issues) to authorise an absence using code X.