Pupils absent for more than half of school days hit record level

The latest government data on school attendance reveal that, three years on from schools re-opening following successive lockdowns, one in five children are still missing school.

The latest data, for the 2023 Autumn term, show that 142,487 children were severely absent from school, missing more than half of school time.  This is an increase of 13.75 per cent compared to the 2022 Autumn term. This is the highest number of children severely absent during an Autumn term on record – and an eye-watering 137 per cent higher than before the pandemic.

Today’s figures also show that 1,407,802 children were persistently absent from school in the 2023 Autumn term, missing more than 10 per cent of school time.

This is a welcome reduction of 280,000 children compared to the term before (the 2023 Summer term), but is still the equivalent of one in five pupils.

Commenting on the new data, CSJ Programme Lead, Beth Prescott, said:

“It is a great relief to see persistent absence from school decreasing.

“It is, however, very concerning that four years on from the pandemic and school lockdowns, one in five children are still missing huge amounts of their education.

“CSJ research recently suggested that the contract between parents and schools has broken down, with more than a quarter of parents believing the pandemic has shown that it is not essential for their children to attend school every day.

“Dealing with this is much more fundamental than the Education Secretary simply blaming parents working from home. We need a new parent participation strategy.

“I fear that the government has given up on tackling the so-called “ghost children” that are severely absent from school.

“These numbers are the record highest ever for an Autumn term.

“This must be dealt with as a matter of extreme urgency.