School absence remains at crisis levels – severe absence
at record levels
Fines may perversely incentivise vulnerable families
taking kids out of school
Statutory guidance and better data
welcomed
Much more needs to be done to rebuild the parent-school
contract
Commenting on the Department for Education’s announcement this
morning on measures to address school absence, , Education Lead at the
Centre for Social Justice, said:
“School absence is at crisis levels, wreaking havoc on children’s
education and future life chances. Persistent absence remains
eye-wateringly high, up 60 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, with
one in five children persistently absent. Severe absence
has returned to record highs, with 140,000 children being absent
from school more than they are present, more than double
pre-pandemic levels. More urgent and accelerated action is
needed to tackle the absence crisis and get these children back
into school.
“It is good that the new Minister for Schools, , has finally made attendance
guidance statutory and set out plans for better attendance data
(both longstanding CSJ recommendations).
“But the government needs to keep a careful watch on the blanket
use of fines to punish absenteeism. Our research suggests
they can lead to perverse incentives for vulnerable families to
pull their children out of school and into home education rather
than pay fines. Often, these are the very children who
would benefit most from school, and families may find themselves
struggling to cope with the demands of delivering a quality home
education. New government data, also released today, has
shown an increase in the estimated number of children in home
education at any point during the 2022/23 academic year, compared
to the previous academic year (2021/22). A support-first approach
should remain at the centre of any action to improve school
attendance.
“Fines, which to date have not prevented the crisis in school
absence, will not work unless we address the underlying causes of
absence. The contract between families and schools has
broken, recent CSJ polling uncovered that almost three in ten
parents agree that the pandemic has shown it is not essential for
children to attend school every day. Parental engagement
must be at the centre of any plan to tackle absence, which is why
the CSJ continues to call for a National Parental Participation
Strategy, to help schools and parents engage more meaningfully
with each other.
“CSJ research shows children can miss school for a variety of
reasons, including unmet mental health needs, unmet and
undiagnosed special educational needs and a lack of access to
basic necessities as a result of financial disadvantage. The
government must urgently roll out attendance mentors nationally,
to work with schools and families to understand and remove the
underlying barriers to absence and get children back into
school.
“With one in five children persistently absent and severe absence
back to record levels, the government must employ a wide range of
tools to turbocharge school attendance and give more children an
education that opens doors. Today’s announcement, though a
welcome step, leaves much more to do.
ENDS
Editors Notes:
Two of the CSJ’s latest reports on school attendance:
The Missing Link: restoring the
bond between schools and families
School Absence Tracker (October
2023)
