The latest data on pupil absence for the Autumn and Spring terms 2023/2024, released yesterday by the Department of Education, is deeply concerning, showing an increase in severe absence across schools in England.
- Persistent absence rates have decreased across all school types, however severe absence increased – the same as in autumn 2022/spring 2023.
- Absence increased from autumn to spring in 2023/24, but combined absence for the two terms remained lower than autumn and spring 2022/23
- 1.42 million (19.2%) persistently absent pupils (down from 21.2% / 1.56 million in autumn 2022/spring 2023). Persistent absence did increase from 19.4% in autumn 2023/24, to 21.5% in spring 2023/24 alone.
- 158,000 (2.1%) severely absent pupils – (up from 1.9% / 138,905 in autumn 2022/spring 2023).
Rachael Kenningham, School-Home Support Head of Policy and Engagement said:
“Any reduction in pupil absence is welcome, but we must not lose sight of the fact that huge numbers of children are still missing too much of their education. While this positive shift is encouraging, it is clear that absence levels remain worryingly high and almost double what they were pre pandemic.
This growing crisis highlights the urgent need for radical collaboration between schools, parents/carers, and local services to address the root causes of persistent absenteeism, and for that we need investment.
Poor attendance in schools has reached critical levels, and this cannot continue. It’s time for a bold, collective effort to ensure that families of absentees are supported to get back to school and achieve their full potential. School-Home Support has put forward a set of recommendations to the government to address this.
We welcome the Government’s strong commitment to reducing school absence and urge it to use the forthcoming budget to deliver much needed investment in early intervention support services for families bringing us one step closer to a support-led, family-centric approach to tackling one of the most significant problems the education system faces today.
At School-Home Support, we’ll continue working closely with families, schools, and policymakers to ensure that every child is in school, ready to learn and that no child is left behind.”