Amid mounting concern in government about the crisis in pupil attendance since Covid, Prof Chris Whitty has written to schools to reassure parents that anxiety can be a normal part of growing up and that being in lessons can help.
As the new school term got under way across England, Whitty said it was also appropriate for parents to send children to school with mild respiratory illnesses, including cold symptoms such as a minor cough, runny nose or sore throat. He said they should not be sent to school if they had a temperature of 38C (100F) or above.
Details of the letter emerged as the government's preferred candidate to take over as Ofsted's chief inspector of schools and children's services in England called for an urgent review of increased absence in schools since Covid.
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