{"id":54721,"date":"2022-01-07T10:42:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T10:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=54721"},"modified":"2022-01-11T10:45:21","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T10:45:21","slug":"devon-schools-rise-to-the-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/devon-schools-rise-to-the-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Devon schools rise to the challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Devon County Council schools have reported a 94 per cent pupil attendance this week, following a staggered start to the new term.\u202fPrior to Christmas, pupil attendance was around 90 per cent.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All our schools reopened this week, with many secondaries providing on-site testing for pupils ahead of the term start.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our schools have encouraged the wearing of face coverings in communal areas since last summer due to the high number of positive cases, but now, the <a href=\"https:\/\/eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flnks.gd%2Fl%2FeyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMjQsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjAxMDcuNTE0MjgzNDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5nb3YudWsvZ292ZXJubWVudC9uZXdzL3Rlc3RpbmctbWVhc3VyZXMtdG8tZW5zdXJlLXlvdW5nLXBlb3BsZS1yZXR1cm4tdG8tY2xhc3Nyb29tcyJ9.5ED0WTJ_eteU5bBbFfl4iz5QF2eZ2lxpcCvguoPnE7Y%2Fs%2F172374962%2Fbr%2F124336470846-l&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cmike.bomford%40devon.gov.uk%7C704e5808c0914d589fe808d9d200987c%7C8da13783cb68443fbb4b997f77fd5bfb%7C0%7C0%7C637771722273639996%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=S6wBBFCq%2BNInGgVpg8HBmyB3YEtJDDHzlYq0y%2FEKVoI%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">national guidance expects secondary school pupils to wear them in the classroom as well, unless exempt.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_61dd5f4a3ba5f\" class=\"councillor-quote align-right other has-white-color has-black-background-color grid-x\">\r\n\t<blockquote class=\"councillor-quote-blockquote medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n                    <div class=\"councillor-quote-title\"><p>Steve Brown, Devon&#8217;s Director of Public Health, said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n        \t\t<div class=\"councillor-quote-text\"><p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;\">&#8220;I want to thank pupils and parents for their continued support in helping to follow the national guidance, to help contain the spread of the virus.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt 0cm;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;\">&#8220;With schools back this week, and with the highly infectious Omicron variant getting a stronger foothold in Devon, we expect case rates to rise over coming weeks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt 0cm;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;\">\u201cI ask that pupils continue to wear face coverings in the classroom, as well as in communal areas, and to keep up with the regular lateral flow tests when showing no symptoms.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt 0cm;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;\">&#8220;We are continuing to work very closely with our schools and colleges, especially where we see outbreaks, to help reduce risk to pupils and staff.&#8221;<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n        <div class=\"councillor-quote-aside medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n\t<figure class=\"councillor-quote-image grid-x\">\r\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"small-6 cell medium-12\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/themes\/dcc-parent-v4\/images\/avatar-placeholder.png\" alt=\"placeholder image\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\r\n        <figcaption class=\"councillor-quote-description small-6 cell medium-12\" >\r\n            \t        Steve Brown, Director of Public Health Devon            <\/figure>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n    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