As the government looks to change tack, two Greater Manchester headteachers air their frustrations
Of the 1,200 pupils who should have been in school at Newman Roman Catholic college in Oldham on Friday, only half were at their desks. In the last three weeks, there have been 33 positive Covid cases among pupils and the speed at which the virus is spreading is picking up, but the overwhelming majority of children who are at home are not ill. They are self-isolating.
Newman is among the worst affected schools in the borough, where there is an infection rate of 460 for every 100,000 people (compared with a national average of 172). Overall figures for Oldham showed there were 6,245 children self-isolating on Friday – 14% of the school-age population – up from 4,109 nine days earlier. With 400 staff and a total of 199 bubbles now off, some schools are struggling to remain open.
