A report out this morning by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has identified higher levels of absence to be a key factor in the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.
The report finds that pupil absence is a key, and growing, driver of the disadvantage gap.
If disadvantaged pupils had the same level of absence as their peers in 2023, the attainment gap at age 11 would have been almost one month smaller and the gap at age 16
The growth in the disadvantage gap at age 16 by 0.5 months since 2019 (to 18.6 months in 2023) can be entirely explained by higher levels of absence for disadvantaged pupils.
At each key stage, more than half of the gap is explained by the size of the gap in earlier phases. Our analysis finds that by age 7, nearly 60% of the gap at age 11 has already developed.
Disadvantaged students fall even further behind when they attend schools and colleges with lower-attaining intakes – this peer effect adds over 1 month to the GCSE gap in 2023, and a third of a grade to the 16-19 gap.
Meanwhile the attainment gap is widening for the youngest pupils with special educational needs, with pupils on SEN support in reception year falling 0.7 months behind their peers between 2019 and 2023.
While the gender gap for GCSE students has narrowed during this period as boys are catching up, but this also reflects slower progress of girls during secondary schools.
The reports authors recommend that government should prioritise early intervention to improve school readiness and reduce gaps throughout schooling, by increasing the early years pupil premium to match the pupil premium in later years, ensuring a high quality workforce and improving childcare accessibility for disadvantaged children in particular.
As part of wider SEND reforms, the government should prioritise training in child development and different types of SEND, making it a mandatory part of initial teacher training and early career development.
Emily Hunt, the EPI’s associate director of social mobility, said: “For the first time, we have shown that high and increasing levels of absence among disadvantaged pupils are the primary reason why the disadvantage gap has grown since 2019 and that the government won’t tackle the gap unless it gets to grips with the complex root causes of absence.”
