William Brown
THE number of pupils missing school has been branded “not acceptable” after latest figures showed a drop in attendance rates.
A new report has revealed that, in 2022/23, almost a third of pupils in Renfrewshire and more than one in five of those in East Renfrewshire were classed as being “persistent absentees” – meaning they had missed 10 per cent or more of all sessions.
Levels of persistent absenteeism in Renfrewshire were around 23 per cent in primaries, 45 per cent in secondaries and 28 per cent in special needs schools, giving an overall rate of 32.7 per cent.
The figures for East Renfrewshire were around 15, 28 and 23 per cent respectively, with an overall rate of 21.1 per cent.
The average for Scottish schools as a whole was 32.5 per cent.
Data published by the Scottish Government also shows the overall school attendance rate has fallen significantly in both Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire over the past decade.
The rate in Renfrewshire fell from 94 per cent in 2012/23 to just over 90 per cent in 2022/23, with a drop from 95.5 per cent to 93 per cent in East Renfrewshire over the same period.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said that, as a “first priority,” the Scottish Government is working with council chiefs to “return attendance to pre-Covid levels and to reduce persistent absence as far as possible.”
She added: “We know that absence is among the post-pandemic challenges facing schools internationally – and Scotland is not immune from that.
“Education Scotland has already offered support to schools to improve attendance and reduce absence, following publication of the Improving Attendance report which I commissioned last year.”
Ms Gilruth expressed particular concern about persistent absenteeism across the country.
She said: “The rates of persistent absence highlighted in these figures are not acceptable.
“I am absolutely clear that there must be a renewed drive across all levels of governments and agencies to address this as a priority.”
In schools across Scotland, sickness was the most common reason for authorised absences, while truanting was the biggest reason for pupils having unauthorised absences.
However, the report added that the “biggest contributor to the increase in unauthorised absence from 2020/21 to 2022/23 was unauthorised holidays,” with more parents opting to take their children away during term time.
Pupils in the poorest parts of Scotland had a lower attendance rate than those in the most affluent communities, the report revealed, with an attendance rate of almost 87 per cent in the most deprived areas, compared with 93.5 per cent in the least deprived.
Ms Gilruth added: “Scotland’s education system continues to perform well, despite the challenges of recent years, with the most recent figures showing record highs in expected literacy and numeracy levels among primary pupils, while a record number of school leavers are getting into work, training or further study.”