School staff at 'no greater risk' of Covid infection than other working-age adults

1 March 2021, 14:06 | Updated: 1 March 2021, 15:36

File photo: Pupils arriving at Manor Park School and Nursery in Knutsford
File photo: Pupils arriving at Manor Park School and Nursery in Knutsford. Picture: PA

By Megan White

School staff are not at a higher risk of Covid-19 infection than other working-age adults in their local communities, new figures suggest.

Around 14.99% of school staff tested positive for coronavirus antibodies in December, which indicate a past infection, lower than the estimate of 18.22% for working-age adults, according to a small study of schools.

The survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also suggests the proportion of staff who tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies was 14.61% of primary staff, compared with 15.72% of secondary staff.

Read more: Search under way for missing patient in England with Brazilian Covid strain

The findings come a week before all pupils in England are set to return to class after months of remote learning.

School leaders and teachers have been left "disappointed" after Government advisers decided against prioritising school staff in "crowded" classrooms in the next phase of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

Teacher and activists urges Govt not to make a mistake with schools

But a leading Public Health England (PHE) expert said that the country is now in a "much better place" to reopen schools to children during the pandemic.

Dr Shamez Ladhani, a PHE consultant epidemiologist and the study's chief investigator, said it was "extremely reassuring" that teachers do not appear to be at a higher risk of infection than working people of the same age.

In a briefing with reporters, Dr Ladhani said: "I think where we are now is in a really amazing place for reopening schools the right way.

"The country is still in lockdown, the infection rates are falling very, very rapidly, community infection and transmissions are going to be very low when they go back to school, and we're not sending people back out into town because we want the kids to be safe."

But he acknowledged that the Covid-19 reproduction number, or R value, may still increase when schools reopen.

Dr Ladhani said: "At the end of the day it's very, very dependent on community infection rates as to what happens with schools.

Vaccines Minister explains details behind the new Covid strain

"It's not just about the schools. It's about going to schools, it's about parents actually using public transport to get their children to schools, it is about meeting and picking them up so the whole process of schooling comes with a small risk.

"It would be very naive to think that opening schools will not result in any changes in R rates or infection rates, but the bottom line is that the benefits of bringing children back to school far outweigh any risks that we see with Covid."

The Schools Infection Study, from PHE, the ONS and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), released on Monday, tested staff and pupils in 121 schools at least once over a few days in early December.

Overall, 12,203 school staff and pupils took part in the study on school sites between December 2 and 10.

Children and staff displaying symptoms would have been expected to be off school and self-isolating.

The study suggests that the proportion of participating staff and pupils who were positive for Covid-19 was lower than the surrounding community.

In secondary schools, 1.22% of pupils and 1.64% of staff overall tested positive for current infection, while in primary schools, 0.94% of pupils and 0.99% of staff tested positive for current infection.

But researchers said differences between primary and secondary schools were not statistically significant, and they stressed that the data collected in the study was not representative of all schools in England.

The data included 80 secondary and 41 primary schools in 15 local authorities.

Professor Sinead Langan, co-chief investigator of the study at LSHTM, said: "These findings show that some individuals attending schools have Covid-19 infections and therefore there is potential for transmission.

"However, it is still hard to say whether this infection is occurring within the schools or in the wider community.

"More investigation is needed to measure the tangible effect of school control measures implementations. The effect of the recently introduced twice weekly home tests on infection prevalence within schools should also be carefully evaluated."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

File photo dated 12/02/25 of Health Secretary Wes Streeting, he has said sending crack teams of top doctors to hospital trusts in areas with high levels of people who do not have jobs is cutting waiting lists, Wes Streeting has said.

Streeting hits out at those ‘manufacturing rebellion’ as he refuses to confirm Government U-turn on disability benefits

Alice da Silva Aguiar was one of the three children killed.

Commemorative playground to be built in primary school in honour of Southport victims

Foreign Office staff enjoyed the Nassau Yacht Club in Barbados, in January 2023, spending £920.

Civil servants splurge on Barbados yacht club trip with taxpayer-backed credit card

Met Police sued after reinstating 999 call handler who mock Sarah Everard and called rape victim a ‘slut’

Met Police sued after reinstating 999 call handler who 'mocked Sarah Everard' and called rape victim a ‘slut’

At least 50 dead after fire rips through nightclub in North Macedonia

At least 50 dead after fire rips through nightclub in North Macedonia

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry leaves after attending an Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

Bombshell US court ruling orders Prince Harry's visa application files be made public by Tuesday

This image made from video by NASA shows astronauts waving after the SpaceX capsule docked with the International Space Station, Sunday, March 16, 2025. Top row from left: Nick Hague, Alexander Gorbunov, Suni Williams, Alexei Ovchinin.

Over the moon: SpaceX capsule docks with ISS as stranded NASA astronauts welcome replacement crew

F1 Grand Prix Of Australia

Lando Norris wins a wet Australian Grand Prix despite last minute charge from Max Verstappen

Disabled people to be given right to try working without risk of losing benefits in welfare reforms.

Disabled people to be given 'right to try' work without risk of losing benefits

Britain's Prince William, Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), and Kate, the Princess of Wales, Patron of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), pose for a photo with Leif Thobroe

Royal split: William and Kate cheer on rival sides at Wales take on England in Six Nations clash

Wes Streeting MP - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - in Downing Street 12th March 2025 - the day before NHS England was abolished.

Scrapping NHS England is ‘beginning, not the end’ says Streeting, vowing to cut hundreds of quangos

A view of the pollution caused by garbage and various wastes following the thousands of Palestinians displaced under the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel have returned to the northern Gaza Strip in Jabalia, Gaza on March 13, 2025.

US rejects Hamas’s ‘entirely impractical’ demands to implement ceasefire as talks reach impasse

Antoine Dupont and Gregory Alldritt of France lift the Six Nations Trophy after their team's victory during the Guinness Six Nations 2025 match between France and Scotland at Stade de France

France win Six Nations after beating Scotland, shattering England title hopes

The US has launched large strikes in Yemen as Donald Trump promised "overwhelming lethal force" until the Houthis cease attacks on shipping.

US launches strikes on Yemen as Trump promises 'overwhelming lethal force' against Houthis

Rich people are getting married at a way higher rate than those with lower incomes as the ‘marriage gap’ between rich and poor hits a record 51%.

'Only rich people are getting married', new research suggests, as ‘marriage gap’ widens

"I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me," Jones, who also uses the name Samantha Strable, posted on social media.

American influencer apologises after being threatened with deportation for snatching baby wombat from mum