Ministers launch attendance crusade to get all children back in school (Image: Getty)
In the 2022-23 academic year, figures from the Department for Education (DfE) suggest 22.3 per cent of pupils in England were persistently absent – 17.2 per cent in primary schools and 28.3 per cent in secondary schools.
Concerningly, this is roughly double pre-pandemic levels, which is why DfE has announced it is opening 18 more attendance hubs, which will provide tailored support to families and pupils to boost time in school.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “The benefits of our success in raising education standards can only be when all children are in school.
“Tackling attendance is my number one priority. We want all our children to have the best start in life because we know that attending school is vital to a child’s wellbeing, development, and attainment as well as impact future career success.”
“I am hugely grateful to all our brilliant teachers, heads, and everyone whose worked with us to make the progress we’ve already made with 380,000 fewer children persistently absent.”
Hubs are run by schools with excellent attendance that share practical ideas with other primary, secondary, alternative provision and special schools in England who need help to boost their attendance.
From direct pupil engagement initiatives like breakfast clubs and extracurricular activities, to improving their processes and analysis of attendance data, lead hub schools provide a range of support to schools that they can tailor to their pupils and families, according to DfE.
Pupils are persistently absent if they miss 10 per cent or more of their school days, which is roughly one or more days every fortnight over the school year.
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) chief executive Andy Cook said the Covid lockdowns had broken the “contract of trust” between schools and parents.
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A recent poll by the think tank found that 28 per cent felt that way and only 70 per cent of parents are confident their child’s needs are being met – a figure which drops to 61 per cent at secondary school.
Mr Cook said: “The consequences of so many kids missing so much school will only result in unfulfilled lives, fractured communities, and spiralling costs to the taxpayer for picking up the pieces.”
The think tank’s report says physical activity is key to helping children engage with their education.
It calls for a “right to sport” to be introduced to ensure every child has access to at least five hours of extracurricular activities per week.
The CSJ’s recommendations also include mental health support being expanded to cover every school, and the rapid expansion of an existing government-funded mentoring project.
A pilot involving attendance mentors, who help families get children to school, is already being run in five areas, including Middlesbrough, Stoke-on-Trent, and Knowsley.
The programme, costing the government £15 million, provides “intensive” one-to-one support to pupils who are persistently absent working with them and their families to find out why the child is skipping school.
Children’s Commissioner Rachel De Souza said: “As Children’s Commissioner, I have made school attendance one of my top priorities because children tell me how much they value their education and want to be in school.”
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“Every day counts: when children miss school, it’s not just about missing lessons, it’s also about losing valuable moments spent with their friends and teachers.”
“I very much welcome the government’s announcements today which include the recommendations made last year in my report on school attendance.”
“I am hopeful that these measures will arm local authorities and schools with real-time information about school absence rates and provide vital support for children who face barriers to attending school.”
Chief Executive of Barnardo’s, Lynn Perry MBE, said: “Our Attendance Mentoring pilot scheme shows that one of the best ways to improve attendance is working individually with children, building trust, and listening to their concerns.”
“Our mentors encourage children to talk openly about issues such as family finances, bullying, or mental health worries – anything they feel may be preventing them from going to school.”
“In Middlesbrough, 82 per cent of the children we have worked with improved their attendance through one-on-one support from an attendance mentor, with almost two-thirds of the children saying their mental health also improved.”
