Poverty impacts children in numerous interconnected ways, whether that is limiting access to healthy nutritious food, to health services and dental care, to a safe home, or to a transformative education which can open doors to opportunities and improve life chances. With 4.3 million children currently living in poverty across the UK, families urgently need access to services and support networks that can help to alleviate the impacts of poverty.
There is a strong correlation between poverty and school absence.
According to data collected by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Children eligible for Free School Meals are 3.56 times more likely to be severely absent from school. Data from our Impact Report 2023/2024 indicates that issues relating to home, money and employment are the most pressing problems for families receiving support for their children’s attendance. Nearly half (43%) of the parents/carers we work with identify ‘work’, and and more than a third (35%) identify ‘home and money’, as among the biggest challenges they face.
Addressing school absence in South Yorkshire
In South Yorkshire, school absence levels are above the national average. Latest official statistics for the academic year 2022/2023 show that persistent absence in Sheffield is at 24.31%, an increase of 11.33% from before the pandemic and more than 3% higher than the national average. In Rotherham, persistent absence is at 23.3%, in Doncaster it is 22.58% and in Barnsley it is 21.9%.
Across South Yorkshire, there were 2,051164 days of lost learning due to school absence in 2022/2023.
At School-Home Support, we work where the need is greatest. We are building our practitioner service in Sheffield, where communities with the highest levels of deprivation are experiencing high levels of school absence. If you would like to connect to find out more about our plans in Sheffield, please get in touch by filling in the form at the bottom of this page.
