Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) teaching staff and (b) support staff have been infected with covid-19 compared to the rest of the population.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes the proportion of staff testing positive for antibodies indicative of a prior COVID-19 infection as part of the Schools Infection Survey (SIS). The most recent publication, based on samples from 14 June to 6 July 2021, estimated 23.4% of secondary school staff and 25.2% of primary school staff are testing positive for such antibodies, showing they had been infected with COVID-19 in the past. Such statistics can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/covid19schoolsinfectionsurveyengland/round6june2021.

There is no immediate comparator, however, as the antibody test used in this study detects antibodies produced following natural infection, which is different to the antibody test used in the ONS COVID-19 infection survey that detects antibodies from vaccination as well as infection.

Since September 2021, the ONS has published analysis of the characteristics of people more likely to test positive for COVID-19 on a fortnightly basis. This can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveycharacteristicsofpeopletestingpositiveforcovid19uk/19january2022.

From 20 September to 28 November 2021, those working in the education sector were identified as more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than other working adults. This was the first time that the analysis showed those working in education as more likely to test positive and was likely linked to the previously higher Delta case rates in children during the autumn term.

The ONS also analysed infection rates by occupation from 1 September 2020 to 7 January 2021 based on their COVID-19 infection survey. Occupational risk is a continuum. Within this, there are a group of occupations at the upper end of the continuum, that have no significant difference with the majority of other occupations but show a higher probability of testing positive compared with some of those at the lower end. At the upper end are caring personal service occupations, protective service occupations, teaching and other education professionals, secretarial and related occupations, and other managers and proprietors.

The department estimates that on 6 January 2022, 4.0% of teachers and school leaders, and 3.9% of teaching assistants and other staff, were absent from open schools with a confirmed case of COVID-19. A further 0.8% of teaching staff and 0.9% of support staff were absent due to a suspected case of COVID-19. Updated figures will be published on 25 January 2022.