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
the school social worker. he s concerned about pupil absences. fears around the new variant, omicron, has led to some parents keeping their children away from school, and for the most vulnerable pupils, it is a big worry. it is a lot easier when children are in school. if children are coming in with any injuries, we re there first hand, we re seeing the injury, we re recording injuries, to be able to do those early investigations before having to make a referral to social care. as well as dealing with the welfare 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