Rates of Calderdale children allowed to attend schools in lockdown above national average

Members of Calderdale Council’s Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Board were taking stock of how schools are dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Children allowed to attend school during lockdown include vulnerable children and children of key workers.

Lesley Bowyer, the council’s Assistant Director for Education and Inclusion, said take up of lateral flow testing offered to early years school settings had been very high, and 100 per cent of schools reported being open, though testing at one revealed a number of COVID-19 cases and it had to close for operational reasons.

Calderdale schools had 19 per cent of pupils attending compared to 14 per cent nationally, these are pupils who are allowed to attend during lockdown with most pupils home learning.

Forty per cent of children on health and care plans who were classed as vulnerable were in school, compared to 35 per cent nationally, and 50 per cent of children who have a social worker were in school compared to 41 per cent nationally.

Seventy five per cent of children of critical workers were in attendance, compared to 71 per cent nationally.

Additionally, regular welfare checks had been made on children who were classed as vulnerable who had not been in school.

Ms Bowyer said there were differences between primary and secondary age children who were attending.

At secondary schools this varied between five and 16 per cent (nationally the average is five per cent) while at primary schools 47 per cent were attending compared to just 21 per cent nationally.

At special schools between 25 and 50 per cent were attending, depending on their timetables, compared to 30 per cent nationally.

“Calderdale schools have done a fantastic job in making sure as many children are in school as safely as possible,” she said.

Gaps in equipment were now being filled, said Ms Bowyer – 1,072 devices had now been delivered to Calderdale but only 38 dongles, which are important in some cases as they provide access to the internet for many children who are home learning during the pandemic.

Latest deliveries included 80 laptops, while the LaptopsFor Learning partnership between Calderdale and the Community Foundation for Calderdale, which had now raised £53,000, was providing around 215 further dongles.

Coun Colin Hutchinson (Lab, Skircoat) said it was good to hear crates of devices were arriving but wanted to know how close Calderdale was to closing the gap between supply and demand, and if children would be allowed to retain the devices.

Ms Bowyer said the previously reported figure of 400 short was being filled – a new audit would be done when term re-started after the February break – and the Laptops For Learning response had been amazing.