One in 30 children miss at least half of their lessons

New data from the Department for Education shows severe absence rates have risen everywhere across England since before the coronavirus pandemic.

In Bradford, 3.3 per cent of pupils were severely absent in the spring term last year – up significantly from 1.1 per cent in 2018-19.

Nationally, severe absence during the spring term more than doubled from 0.8 per cent to 2.2 per cent over the past five years.

This means pupils missed at least half of their school sessions. Each day has two sessions, morning and afternoon.

The Government announced thousands more pupils will receive the support of a specialist attendance mentor to boost school attendance from April 2025.

3.3 per cent of pupils were severely absent in the spring term last year (Image: David Jones) Councillor Sue Duffy, Bradford Council's executive member for children and families, said: “We have not been allocated funding for a mentor under this scheme, which is disappointing.

“Every day in school counts so we are dedicated to improving school attendance across the Bradford district and work with schools, parents and pupils to resolve the underlying causes of absence. 

“We have an Attendance Support Team, an Emotionally Based School Avoidance strategy and have created the Bradford Schools Attendance Charter which makes sure every school in Bradford is working consistently to support families and improve attendance."

Tom Bright, Bradford branch secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), feels Covid had a part to play in the figures.

He said: "When Covid happened, some children who were not coping well in school benefitted from it.

"Kids who were being bullied or kids who were socially unable to cope actually benefitted from Covid because they could be at home and study without distractions.

"There were other kids who were at home spending time on their Playstation or watching TV.

"So when it came to going back in, you had two lots of kids who did not appreciate going back. Both those groups of children struggled to return to school."

Mr Bright said there are children "falling through the cracks". 

"It does not surprise me at all that there is one in 30. That is a problem that needs to be addressed," he added.

"Bradford has not got the infrastructure to do that."

He said: "There are parents who think I can't do anything with the child, it is over to you.

"Schools are not social workers. Schools are being asked to do a lot more for parents than what was the case years ago."

Although Cllr Duffy argues that progress is being made, she too believes families can help ensure more children are attending schools.

“We have seen progress," she said.

"The persistent absence rate in our district has dropped at a bigger rate than it has dropped nationally and our rate of severe absence increased at a lower rate than the increase seen nationally. 

“We hope families will work with us and their school to make sure children and young people don’t miss out on the education they deserve to set them up for success in life.” 

The figures also show authorised absences due to illness was the main reason for severe absence across the country.

Persistent absence, children missing at least 10 per cent of their lessons, has also increased during the pandemic, with the rate rising to 21.5 per cent nationally last spring.

Additionally, the overall national absence rate – which includes authorised and unauthorised punctual, persistent and severe absences – increased from 4.8 per cent to 7.2 per cent in the past five years.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Our mission is to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances.

"Strong foundations of learning are grounded in attendance in the classroom, but we inherited a major challenge in high rates of absence.

“Tackling absence is everyone’s responsibility.

"Parents have a legal responsibility to make sure their child is in school, while government is committed to tackling the root causes of absence through mental health support in secondary schools, breakfast clubs in all primary schools and inclusive SEND support.”