| SPOTLIGHT |
The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has called for the government to make the new guidance on working together to improve attendance statutory, warning that school absence rates have become “stuck at crisis levels”.
In 2022/23, the overall absence rate was 7.5%, compared with 4.7% in 2018/19, prior to the pandemic.
Last year, over 1 in 5 children were ‘persistently absent’, meaning they missed on average at least a day a fortnight in school, the Children’s Commissioner revealed.
In an Attendance Audit, the Children’s Commissioner talked to children who are regularly absent from school.
Looking at the drivers of school absence, the audit found that for some, the pandemic has led to disengagement. “Schools and families have said that they feel like the social contract between parents and schools has been broken”, said the Children’s Commissioner.
Many children described their wait for specialist support such as mental health support or an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).
The audit found that in some instances, children are struggling with issues in their home environment. The Commissioner revealed that it heard from young carers who “struggled to attend school regularly”.
Outlining the way forward, the Children’s Commissioner noted that the Kings Speech earlier this week (7 November) did not include any legislation which would tackle the school absence crisis.
She said: “I continue to want to see the children not in school register and the statutory guidance on attendance put on a statutory footing at the earliest opportunity.”
She called for the government to introduce legislation to make its guidance on working together to improve attendance statutory, and to introduce “a unique data identifier for every child, to facilitate better data matching between health, education and social care to ensure that no child falls through the gaps”.
Further research from the Children’s Commissioner, published last week, outlined the link between post-pandemic absenteeism and poor academic attainment.
The report found that while 78% of all children who were rarely absent in both years passed at least 5 GCSEs including English and maths, only 36% of children who were persistently absent in both years and just 5% of children who were severely absent in both years reached this same standard.
It was also found that children who end up in the criminal justice system have some of the highest rates of school absences.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Though the vast majority of children are in school and learning, we are taking action to tackle absence in school because we know the damage it can have on a child’s education, wellbeing and future life chances.
“We are providing vital support for around 400,000 pupils through our attendance hubs, and our Attendance Action Alliance is supporting delivery of practical support to schools to further raise school attendance. We also published new guidance that places an expectation on schools to use data to identify and support at-risk pupils.
“This is on top of our direct work with persistently and severely absent children and their families, where trained mentors are providing tailored support to overcome barriers and support these children back into school.”
Lottie Winson
