Responding to the news that over 300,000 children are off school alongside around 100,000 teachers and teaching assistants, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education, Munira Wilson MP, said: “The Education Secretary is standing idly by as schools are facing a tidal wave of teacher absences. His failure to prepare has led to a slow-motion car crash as Covid mixes with the return to schools.
“The Government’s catch-up plans are a drop in the ocean, their ex-teacher recruitment campaign is nowhere to be seen, and it is unforgivable that ministers failed to equip classrooms with the air purifiers they need.
“The Conservatives have failed to get a grip of Omicron in the education system and now we are seeing it wreak havoc.”