School absence increases despite Labour’s pledge to usher in ‘new era for attendance’

Teacher with pupil
Teacher with pupil

School absence rates have increased despite the Government’s pledge to usher in a “new era for attendance”.

The overall absence rate among pupils in England has risen slightly to 6.9 per cent at the start of the spring term in January – up from 6.6 per cent at the same point in 2024.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the latest figures published on Thursday were driven by an “increase in unauthorised absence”. It is thought to be in part owing to parents extending their Christmas holidays.

In total, 18.7 per cent of pupils in England have been classed as “persistently absent” so far this year, meaning they have missed at least one in 10 school days.

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It marks a slight fall from the 20.3 per cent persistent absence rate at the same point in the previous academic year.

However, it means almost one in five out of all pupils in England are still failing to turn up to class at least one day each school fortnight.

In the spring term of 2024, a similar proportion of absences equated to around 1.5 million pupils regularly missing school, according to the Centre for Social Justice.

‘Absence epidemic’

Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, warned last year that the scale of children regularly missing class was quickly becoming an “absence epidemic”.

Writing in The Times ahead of the start of the latest school year, the secretary of state said: “Let’s make this new term the beginning of a new era for attendance. The action we take today is about fixing our foundations and building a brighter future for tomorrow.”

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She took aim at parents for allowing standards to loosen, warning that “reasons for not being in school do not include cheaper holidays, birthday treats or even a runny nose”.

Ms Phillipson also said in a speech on Wednesday that the country’s “absence epidemic signals a crisis of belonging” among school children.

“Tackling the epidemic of school absence is everyone’s responsibility – government, schools, parents, and children – we need a national effort to get our kids back in the classroom,” she said.

“These figures showing improvement on persistent absence this autumn term is thanks to the hard work of schools and parents, but there are still far too many children missing school.

“This Government remains laser-focused on tackling the problem making attendance part of school inspections, introducing breakfast clubs in every primary school, and reforming the SEND system, so we deliver on our Plan for Change and every child achieves thrives in school.”

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Labour has insisted its pledge to roll out free breakfast clubs in all primary schools in England will help tackle the absence crisis by encouraging more children into the classroom.

The Government has also promised to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, while absence levels are expected to be scrutinised as part of Ofsted inspections under an overhaul of the schools watchdog.

However, Labour will likely also face criticism that progress has been too slow. Catherine McKinnell, the schools minister, said while in Opposition last year that “persistent absence will be the first barrier we seek to break” if Labour won the general election.

School absence fines

School absence fines increased this year from £60 to £80, while a parent who receives a second fine for the same child within a three-year period will now automatically receive a £160 fine.

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Under new national rules brought in by the Conservatives, schools are also required to consider hitting parents with fines when a child has missed five or more days of lessons for unauthorised reasons.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said it had “long argued that fining parents is a blunt tool which does not get to the root causes of non-attendance”.

“We did not believe that increasing these fines would shift the dial in any meaningful way,” he added.

“It will be vital that the new administration builds on measures like its register of children not in school by investing more in services like social care and children’s mental health – and important that its child poverty taskforce leads to tangible action.”

Pandemic impact

It follows warnings that protracted school closures during the pandemic probably fractured the unwritten social contract that says parents should send their children to school each day.

Absence rates more than doubled in the wake of the pandemic and remain stubbornly high. Experts including former Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman have linked the hike in truancy rates to parents’ continuing working from home habits long after the pandemic.

The Centre for Social Justice has also pointed towards “unmet mental health needs [and] unmet and undiagnosed special educational needs” to explain enduring attendance struggles following Covid.

Beth Prescott, the programmes lead on absence at the Centre for Social Justice, said the latest attendance figures show persistent absence levels are “far higher now than they were pre-pandemic”.

“I think it’s really encouraging that for the Education Secretary, this is clearly a top issue. We need leadership from the front on this issue in order to tackle it. She has wasted no time in taking action on some of these issues that they are working towards to reduce levels of absence,” she said.

“But I think it’s also clear that with absence levels at the crisis levels that they are, that we really need a real comprehensive plan to ensure that we can get all children back engaged in their education.

“I think we’ve got to not be complacent on this. I think we need to ensure that we’re taking urgent action now to help those children who are already progressing through the school system and making sure they’re supported to re-engage and thrive in their education.”

The think tank is calling for the Government to launch a “national parental participation strategy” and to expand children’s access to special attendance mentors.

The DfE was approached for comment.