Labour will tell Ofsted to check on pupil absenteeism

LABOUR will tell Ofsted to check pupil absenteeism in schools every year, the shadow education secretary has pledged.

Bridget Phillipson will announce plans to tackle high rates of pupils missing school at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank in London today.

She will say that under a Labour government, Ofsted will be given the power to monitor pupil absence rates during annual “safeguarding” checks.

The findings could be included in Ofsted “report cards” that Labour is considering introducing to replace the existing grading system for schools.

Ms Phillipson will say artificial intelligence will be used by Labour to spot absence trends and improve co-ordination between education, social care and other services which support families.

More than a fifth of pupils in England missed 10 per cent or more of school in the autumn and spring terms of 202223, more than double the absence rate in 2018-19, according to Department for Education data.

Labour has predicted that the number of children persistently absent from school could rise to more than one in four in 2025-26 unless action is taken. It comes after a poll conducted for the

CSJ think tank suggested that almost three in 10 parents believe it is not essential for children to attend school every day, in a dramatic shift in attitudes since pandemic lockdowns.

Ms Phillipson will also announce Labour’s plans to legislate for a new register of children in home education, proposals that were part of the Government’s now-scrapped Schools Bill.

In December 2022, Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, told MPS on the education select committee a register for children not in school would remain a priority for the Government, but legislation to create a register has yet to be put forward.

The Department for Education has announced 18 more “attendance hubs” in England, run by schools with strong attendance records who share their expertise with schools that need help.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Good attendance in schools is vitally important for children and young people’s education, and our members work closely with parents to minimise absences.”

Molly Kingsley, founder of Usforthem, the parent-led campaign group, said “we must remember that, together with Labour, the NEU were instrumental in baying for prolonged, mass school closures”.