A Report out today warns children in the North of England are more likely to be absent from school, with rates of unauthorised absence being 34% higher in the North than the South.
On average, 1 in 10 children in the North were persistently absent for unauthorised reasons according to the Latest Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report
The Report also shows 37% persistent non-attendance rates for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and 36% for those receiving free school meals. The persistent absence rate for SEN pupils with an Education Health Care Plan is 38% – substantially higher than for those without special needs
The report comes a few days after the most recent Department for Education data showed around 150,000 children in England are missing a half or more of their time at school. This severe absence crisis is continuing to grow, even as the number of children persistently absent falls.
School absence is associated with a range of negative secondary impacts on children’s physical health, mental wellbeing, workforce involvement, and interaction with the criminal justice system. In 2018/19 only 36% of persistently absent children achieved expected grades in English and Maths, compared to 78% of children rarely absent from school. Persistently absent children have a nearly 4 times increased risk of becoming Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).
School absence can also be a safeguarding issue, and children who are missing school can be at greater risk of criminal or sexual exploitation and/or serious violence.
However, the report warns that the current national approach to tackling school absence is far too punitive and uniform. Many headteachers say that strategies used prior to the pandemic to tackle school absence are no longer as effective as they were before 2020.
Between 2015-2016 and 2023-24, the overall school absence rate rose in England by 57%. The report highlights how school absence in primary school is linked to greater school absence in a child’s later years. It also reveals how there are higher levels of school absence in disadvantaged areas
Children in the North of England experienced longer COVID-19 lockdowns and continue to experience higher levels of poverty and reduced educational funding and the North has more local authorities with higher rates of both school absence and higher deprivation.
The report argues that the reasons for children being absent from school are complex and there are often a multitude of risk factors leading to absence, including larger issues of inequality and deprivation, marginalisation, Special Educational Needs, mental health challenges, tooth decay, and family and parental factors. Even within local areas there can be variable school attendance rates. For example, through analysis of the Connected Bradford population linked research database, the report reveals large discrepancies in school attendance across the Bradford District.
One Bradford locality showed an unauthorised absence rate over 22 times greater than the locality with the lowest rate. In some areas, 80% of the total unauthorised absences were attributable to about 12% of pupils.
Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said:
“Tackling the rise in children missing learning is one of the Government’s most urgent challenges. We should be extremely concerned that 150,000 children are absent from school for half or more of the academic year. This is bad for their life chances and bad for our economy and society.
“The reasons why children miss school are often complex and there is no silver bullet. However, the one-size-fits-all and often punitive approach that previous Governments have taken to tackle absence needs to be consigned to the past. Simply, threatening parents with fines is not working for many families and not reducing severe absence rates.
“The crucial message this report puts forward is the need to intervene early and to build a sense of belonging and inclusion in schools. Investing early in supporting children at risk of disengagement from education is the best way of preventing problems further down the line and no child should ever think that school isn’t for them.
“The Department for Education is right to have school absence near the top of its task list. Boosting programmes and projects that support all children to learn is vital if Ministers are to realise their core mission of breaking down the barriers to opportunity.”
Professor Mark Mon Williams, Child of The North report series editor, said:
“The crisis in school attendance goes beyond numbers – it represents the life chances of thousands of children. When children are not in school, they are not just missing lessons; they are at risk of potential danger, and they are losing opportunities for healthy development.
“We urgently need to create an education system that identifies and supports children at risk of disengagement before they fall behind, so every child has the chance to succeed, no matter their background.
“The UK’s future depends on everyone supporting schools to be inclusive places where all children and young people feel they belong.”
