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Apr 16 31 tweets 14 min read Read on X
PERSISTENT ABSENCE

I’ve been scratching my head trying to figure out where this magical 440,000 figure came from which the DfE are quoting as the reduction in persistent absence…

…because that’s NOT what the official data shows!!

Read on to find out more…

🧵⬇️
Image
According to the latest DfE report, the number of persistently absent pupils decreased from:

▪️22.5% in 2021/22
= 1.64 million pupils

to

▪️21.2% in 2022/23
= 1.57 million pupils

That’s a reduction of just 70,000 pupils, NOT 440,000!

…e-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistic…
Image
The more important point that is rather glossed over here is that the persistent absence rate of 21.2% in 2022/23 is still nearly DOUBLE the pre-pandemic rate of 10.9%.

Hardly something to be boasting about! Image
But if the official DfE report states that just 70,000 fewer children have been persistently absent in 2022/23 compared to the previous year…

…why is the government quoting a reduction of 440,000 pupils, more than 6 times the official figure?!

We need to dig a little deeper… Image
Up until April 2022, an additional code was used in school registers:

▪️CODE X: “Not attending in circumstances related to COVID”.

Code X was used in the Autumn & Spring terms in 2021/22.

After April 2022, this code was no longer used for this purpose.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6329a77a…
Image
Prior to April 2022, Code X was used for children who were required to self-isolate (eg. due to close contact) but who did *not* have Covid themselves (those with Covid were recorded as Code I for illness).

Importantly: Code X is NOT counted as an absence in official figures. Image
Of course, if you include these Code X absences (which are NOT included in official figures), then the number of pupils who missed more than 10% of sessions in 2021/22 is considerably higher.

370,000 pupils higher to be exact. Image
You may notice a subtlety in the wording used here.

In the official report, they don’t describe these pupils as persistently absent, they refer to them as pupils who missed 10% or more sessions…

…because Code X absences DON’T count towards official persistent absence figures. Image
So there we are… mystery solved.

The way they arrived at the 440,000 reduction in pupils who are ‘persistently absent’ is by including Code X absences which are NOT officially counted as absences.

I don’t know about you, but this feels a little bit like cheating to me… Image
Now you may be wondering what’s causing all this persistent absence…

In 2022/23, the #1 driver of persistent absence in every age group was ILLNESS.

In fact, in primary schools, persistent absences due to ILLNESS accounted for OVER HALF of the total.

ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2023/11/persis…
Image
In 2022/23, persistent absences were highest in Autumn:

▪️Autumn: 24.2%
▪️Spring: 20.6%
▪️Summer: 23.9%

Let’s take a closer look at what was driving persistent absences that term.

▪️12.4% of persistent absences in Autumn 2022 were solely due to ILLNESS. Image
And yet, despite this, our education leaders stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that ILLNESS is the primary driver of the attendance crisis.

The narrative always focuses on truancy, anxiety, child mental health problems, loss of routine during lockdown, etc…
Yes, these do all play a part in the bigger picture.

But this narrative completely fails to address the elephant in the room.
 
The PRIMARY driver of the high rates of pupil absence is ILLNESS, as the data clearly shows.
 
But illness never even gets so much as a mention!
The simple truth is that we now have another highly infectious respiratory virus in the mix, namely Covid-19…

…so it’s really not surprising that we have more illness absence.

The graph below illustrates this point neatly (h/t @PaulMainwood). Image
Children are not being kept at home because they’re truanting…

…they’re staying home because they are genuinely ill & the government are doing absolutely NOTHING to stop it spreading!!

Just look at the comments on this recent mumsnet thread ⬇️

mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_bein…
Biorisk consultant @brownecfm articulates it perfectly in this succinct thread:

“With Covid in a state of constant and unmitigated transmission, children will be sick more often.”

“It’s literally that obvious.”

“If you don’t address Covid, you’re not addressing the problem.”
Image
It’s little wonder so many parents are furious about the government’s irresponsible attendance campaign which actively encourages parents to send sick children to school, as covered here in iNews by @AasmaDay.

🔗 inews.co.uk/news/education…
Image
This government attendance campaign is utterly counter-productive.

By having sick kids in school, it just spreads the illness to all the other children and teachers, meaning MORE kids and teachers end up sick.

This is a more succinct way of putting it by @drsimonwilliams ⬇️
Image
‘Covid’ may have become a taboo word, but we need to face up to the inconvenient truth that it’s making our kids sick… a LOT.

‘Living with Covid’ shouldn’t mean just ignoring it.

It should mean making environments as safe as possible to reduce the risk of infection.
UK schools are generally poorly ventilated, creating perfect conditions for disease transmission, especially in winter when windows are usually closed.

A CO₂ level ~800ppm indicates good ventilation.

Below are the horrifically high CO₂ levels for a typical UK classroom.
Image
Cleaning the air by improving ventilation & air filtration is a simple, low cost, non-intrusive measure that could HUGELY reduce the spread of Covid in schools.

And it doesn’t just work for Covid - it helps reduce transmission of ALL airborne pathogens - measles, flu, RSV etc.
Clean air in schools is not a restrictive mitigation; it’s an ENABLING mitigation.

It would allow our children to attend school with less risk, less illness, less absence.

And for clinically vulnerable children, it could even be a life-saver.

There’s no downside to clean air.
There’s a mountain of evidence that improving ventilation & air filtration can hugely reduce the spread of airborne illnesses:

▪️A study conducted at Addenbrooke’s hospital showed that air filters removed almost all traces of airborne Covid virus.

cam.ac.uk/research/news/…
▪️An Italian study showed that ventilation delivering 6 air changes per hour could reduce transmission of Covid by a massive 82%.

reuters.com/world/europe/i…
Image
▪️A Swiss study demonstrated that HEPA air filters delivering a clean air delivery rate of 5 air changes per hour (800m3/h) in a typical classroom led to a 5-fold decrease in the cumulative viral dose absorbed by exposed occupants.

smw.ch/index.php/smw/…
Image
▪️A study conducted in Bradford showed that Covid-related illness absence in schools was reduced by >20% when HEPA air filters were used in classrooms.

newscientist.com/article/239871
Image
If you’d like to see more research, here’s a link to a website which has collated 56 research studies from around the world which demonstrate the effectiveness of air filters at removing Covid from the air in different settings:



H/t @CarlvKeirsbilck medium.com/@carlvank/luch…
Of course, the government have quietly invested in clean air and installed state-of-the-art air filtration systems in the Houses of Parliament, Ministry of Defence and other government buildings.

purifiedair.com/case-studies/
Image
…and the Department for Education have recently equipped themselves with brand new enhanced air handling systems at their Westminster HQ.

willmottdixoninteriors.co.uk/news/the-moder…
Image
We don’t have to worry about the water we drink, because we invest in water treatment plants which filter & clean it to a high standard.

It’s just one of those things we accept as a given.

We wouldn’t drink dirty water, so why are we breathing dirty indoor air? Image
The Mayor of London @SadiqKhan recently announced that air filters are being installed in 200 London schools.

It’s a good start, but we need to go further.

EVERY child has the right to breathe clean indoor air.

EVERY classroom should have air filters.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…
Image

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More from @_CatintheHat

Apr 16
Heads up, folks…

It looks like the World Health Organisation are about to come up with alternative terminology for ‘airborne transmission’ in an attempt to save face after denying that Covid was airborne for so long.

I’ve compiled some relevant threads below…

⬇️
Image
Read 9 tweets
Apr 1
There’s nothing more irritating than when you see someone who is so close to joining the dots… but doesn’t quite get there.

I’m never quite sure if it’s intentional or just sheer ignorance… (well actually, I think I can probably guess which it is).

/1


telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/2…
Image
Let’s take a look at what she says:

“We must better support our children to attend school safely in any future similar event.”

“We cannot allow our elderly, those in care homes & the vulnerable to be placed at such risk in a future pandemic.”

“Most viruses are airborne.”

/2 Image
Somehow @SuellaBraverman has lined up all the pieces of the jigsaw 🧩 , but still can’t see the bigger picture that is literally staring her in the face!

✅ Yes, another pandemic is coming (as well as the one we’re still in right now).

✅ Yes, we must be better prepared.

/3
Read 19 tweets
Mar 29
🚨 Indoor AIRBORNE Risk Assessment in the context of SARS-CoV-2 from the World Health Organisation (@WHO)

For clean air advocates, this is HUGE!

The WHO are finally saying, loud & proud: COVID IS AIRBORNE.

Let’s take a closer look at the details…🧵

🔗 iris.who.int/handle/10665/3…
Image
Foreword:

“We live immersed in an ocean of air, yet we hardly ever notice its presence. However, without air we would simply not be able to survive.”

“We must reshape & redesign the building environment, while focusing on optimizing indoor ventilation and the air we breathe.” Image
Introduction:

This purpose of this document is to introduce “an innovative method to quantify the risk of SARS-CoV-2 airborne transmission in indoor settings, thereby providing an alternative approach to developing ventilation requirements that lower the risk of infection.” Image
Read 28 tweets
Mar 28
🚨NEW Report presents findings from a review of Long Covid to guide New Zealand’s Public Health response.

Report concludes that “preventative action is urgently needed”.

Let’s dive into the details as the findings are relevant for ALL countries.

🔗

/1 phcc.org.nz/briefing/long-…
Image
Below are some of the key findings of the report:

▪️Changes in health status following SARS-CoV-2 infection are common and can occur at any age.

▪️Symptoms are frequently experienced for months or years and can increase over time.

/2 • Several recent and well-designed cohort studies have reported central estimates ranging from 4 – 14% for ongoing symptoms per infection. • Long Covid includes a full spectrum of severity from hidden effects through mild and transient symptoms to life-changing and life-limiting conditions such as heart attacks and strokes, diabetes, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and neurological disorders. Commonly experienced symptoms such as fatigue and cognitive dysfunction have a high impact on quality of life. • Both SARS-CoV-2 infection and Long Covid are under-counted ...
▪️Future health impacts can be expected in addition to the effects that are already observed.

▪️ Some people who are currently well post-Covid are already expressing biomarkers of risk for cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, autoimmune diseases & cancers.

/3 Future health impacts can be expected in addition to the effects that are already known and observed.  • Some people who are currently well post-Covid are already expressing biomarkers of risk for cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, a range of autoimmune diseases, and cancers: conditions that typically have latency periods lasting years or decades. • Early-life exposure to infections can have lasting impacts on developing tissues and organ systems. Already, several adverse effects of perinatal Covid-19 exposure have been described. • Pre-pandemic evidence shows the adverse ...
Read 20 tweets
Mar 7
MEASLES, a thread🧵

Having successfully eliminated measles in the UK back in 2017, it’s now back with a vengeance.

Cases have risen to a 10-year high & a National Health Emergency has been declared.

Here’s a whistlestop tour of everything you need to know about measles. Image
MEASLES CASES IN ENGLAND

▪️In the 5 months since 1 Oct 2023, 733 measles cases have been reported, a 10-year high.

▪️239 new cases have been reported in Feb so far (data still incomplete).

▪️The majority (63%) of cases are in children under 10 yrs.

🔗 gov.uk/government/pub…
Image
INFECTIOUSNESS

Measles is one of the world’s MOST infectious diseases.

It transmits very easily from person to person (the infected person is infectious from 4 days BEFORE the rash appears).

On average, each person with measles will infect 15 other (unvaxxed) people. Image
Read 24 tweets
Mar 2
COVID + THE BRAIN 🧠

There’s been a flurry of new studies published in recent weeks about Covid’s detrimental impact on the brain.

This is the aspect of Covid which concerns me most, but which many people seem to be blissfully unaware of.

So let’s dig into what we know… 🧵 Image
It’s important to note that this is not new news… we’ve known about Covid’s impact on the brain for a long time.

1. This article from Dr @zalaly provides an excellent summary of the mounting evidence about how Covid leaves its mark on the brain.

🔗 theconversation.com/mounting-resea…
Image
2. This is one of the new studies published this week (29 Feb 2024).

Researchers found that those with Long Covid had measurable memory & cognitive deficits equivalent to a difference of 6 IQ points which lasted for a year or more after infection.

🔗 amp.theguardian.com/society/2024/f…
Image
Read 34 tweets

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