many questions are raised by the short life of this sweet little girl. that report was by the bbc s danny savage. there s been a 13% increase in the number of state school pupils in england absent for covid related reasons, according to department for education attendance figures released today. 236,000 pupils missed school for covid related reasons on the 9th of december although fewer than half of them had a confirmed case of coronavirus. schools in some high infection areas are struggling to stay fully open. our education correspondent, elaine dunkley, reports. bell rings. year three, year four, come on! it s been the most difficult term, there s no doubt about it. we ve seen a lot more cases of covid amongst the children and a huge amount more amongst the staff. this is ash green primary in halifax. it s another day of juggling staff absences
and layer of pressure. in a statement, the department for education says it has put in place a covid workplace fund to cover the cost of schools with staffing pressures as a result of the pandemic. the term is nearly over for the pupils and staff at ash green primary the christmas holiday a break from the stress of teaching in a pandemic. but with new variants, there are fears of more disruption, as staff wait to see what the new year will bring. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in halifax. the headlines on bbc news. scotland s france minister nicholas surgeons tightens restrictions saying she doesn t want people to cancel christmas but because for less household mixing to curb the spread of omicron. mps are debating the government s plans for tougher rules in england, including the introduction of covid passes to gain entry to large events. government
and emotional wellbeing of pupils, there is pressure to help children catch up on learning. you ve got children who are so low. year two children, these children are six turning seven, have missed reception and year one, the two most vital years of their schooling. but when we expect them to sit down and do that sats tests in may, june. it is really worrying, you feel a lot of pressure, because you ve still got to get those children to that place. it s layer and layer and layer of pressure. in a statement, the department for education says it has put in place a covid workplace fund to cover the cost of schools with staffing pressures as a result of the pandemic. the term is nearly over for the pupils and staff at ash green primary the christmas holiday a break from the stress of teaching in a pandemic. but with new variants, there are fears of more disruption, as staff wait to see what the new year will bring. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in halifax.
bell rings. year three, year four, come on! it s been the most difficult term, there s no doubt about it. we ve seen a lot more cases of covid amongst the children and a huge amount more amongst the staff. this is ash green primary in halifax. it s another day of juggling staff absences and children missing school because of covid. last monday, we had 12 staff off for covid related reasons. you add that, then, to normal absence, that particular day, we had 20 members of staff off. i got to a point in about october where i thought, this is getting really difficult. how much longer can i keep going at this level? how much longer can the staff keep going? working in schools at the moment is incredibly tough. teaching unions are warning that there aren t enough supply teachers, as schools across the country