The Guardian view on the rise in school absences: a crisis made in government
Pretty much everyone with a stake in schools is worried about the current high rate of absenteeism: politicians, school leaders, academic researchers and many parents. The pattern has been clear for a while. The proportion of pupils classified as persistently absent (missing more than one in 10 lessons) has more than doubled in England since the pandemic. From 10.9% in 2018-19, it rose to 22.3% in 2022-23. Data in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is collected separately because education is devolved, but indicates a similar trend. This week’s report from the research agency Public First, probing attitudes through discussions with focus groups, called the situation a “full-blown national crisis”.
The concern is justified. As the teacher and writer Lola Okolosie observed recently, school is “an anchor to society”. As well as providing lessons, school is where children learn to be with other people. Since the pupils most likely to be absent include those on free school meals and with special educational needs, low attendance is a form of social exclusion.
There is also much agreement about the causes of the problem. Covid broke habits and altered attitudes to infectious illness, particularly in households with vulnerable members. School closures affected families in different ways. But the break from classrooms weakened some pupils’ connection to their school. The rise in remote working has shifted attitudes to attendance in workplaces as well as schools, and more research on the impact of these changes is needed. Parents’ greater willingness to break rules with term-time holidays has also been noted.
Advice from Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, that children with mild or moderate anxiety are likely to be better off in school, should help headteachers to promote attendance. A review proposed by Sir Martyn Oliver, who is expected to be the next head of Ofsted, should feature pupils’ views and voices. More breakfast clubs, as promised by Labour’s Bridget Phillipson if her party wins power, would help, particularly in the poorest areas. Headteachers are clear that lack of food and money is one reason why children stay away.
The worsening mental health of