Severe school absences on the rise in North Tyneside as council pledges to support struggling pupils
The number of children missing 50% or more of their schooling is on the rise in North Tyneside, according to council stats. According to figures from North Tyneside Council, the number of kids with severe persistent absences at school has been climbing since 2018-19.
Data, which has yet to be validated as part of the October school census, indicates that in 2023-24, 531 children have missed either half or more of their schooling. The attendance data showing the numbers missing this amount of schooling provided by the local authority is as follows:
2018-19 READ MORE:Keen traveller who shied from sharing holiday photos finally finds confidence after shedding 3st READ MORE:Drunk barber arrested for being abusive in Newcastle's Bigg Market kicked officer | 140 |
2019-20 | 155* |
2020-21 | 199 |
2021-22 | 310 |
2022-23 | 415 |
2023-24 | 531** |
North Tyneside Council cautions that the data from 2019-20 is provisional as the data was locally collected during the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to be validated nationally.
By percentage, North Tyneside has remained below the national average for severe absences since 2018-19. The most recent figures show that nationally, severe absences made up 2.03% of absences, whereas North Tyneside lies at 1.58%. In addition, North Tyneside is comparatively better off than other areas in the North East, with the regional average in 2022/23 sitting at 2.32%.
Lisa Ramshaw, Head of Education and Inclusion at North Tyneside Council, said: “Every day in education is important and every young person deserves to be supported to attend schools or settings. We closely monitor these to ensure we have the right support in place at the right time to allow everyone to have the best education possible.”
The Department for Education has issued new guidance this month encouraging schools of all kinds and local authorities to work to improve attendance nationally. According to the new guidance: "These severely absent pupils may find it more difficult to be in school or face bigger barriers to their regular attendance and as such are likely to need more intensive support across a range of partners. A concerted effort is therefore needed across all relevant services to prioritise them."
In addition, schools and local authorities are expected to make patterns of both lesser and severe absences a focus of regular monitoring to identify pupils and groups who may need targeted help.