New pupil attendance figures for the
2023/24 autumn term, show a school absence rate of 6.8% (4.6%
authorised, 2/2% unauthorised) and a persistent absence rate of
20.1%. These are down from the absence rate of 7.5% in the
2022/23 autumn term, when persistent absence was 24.2% - but
still too high according to school leaders' union NAHT.
Paul Whiteman, NAHT's general secretary, said: “Schools have been
working incredibly hard to increase attendance and it is
encouraging to see that work has been paying off, with these
figures an improvement on the previous autumn term.
“However, levels of pupil absence, including persistent absence,
remain a concern, and are still considerably higher than they
were pre-pandemic. There are many reasons for this, ranging from
illness to mental health problems, poverty and challenges facing
children and their families, and schools cannot solve all these
problems alone.
“While the government has announced measures aimed at tackling
the issue, like an expansion of attendance hubs, it needs to go
further and faster and be far more ambitious.
“That means re-investing in teams which work directly with
children who frequently miss school and their families,
particularly specialist support like education welfare officers
which have been decimated over the last decade.
"We need to see much more government investment in these
services, as well as children’s social care, early help, and
mental health services which have also suffered from chronic
underfunding.”
