Commenting as the DfE announce the re-introduction of the coronavirus (COVID-19) workforce fund, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“The reintroduction of the Covid workforce fund is a welcome acknowledgement of the difficulties schools are facing at the moment with very high levels of staff absence. We would like the financial support for supply costs to be extended in order to reach every school that needs it, but this is certainly a welcome step in the right direction.

“An NAHT poll taken in July this year showed that the cost of supply cover for sick and isolating staff put huge pressure on school budgets, with average estimated additional staff costs of £12,000 per school since the start of the pandemic.”