Absence rates still exceed pre-pandemic levels

The latest figures from the Department for Education for absence across all settings shows that there is a slight decrease overall but figures remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. The overall absence rate for the academic year 2023/24 to the end of June is 7.1%. This is an improvement on last year which was 7.4% though much higher than the pre-pandemic figure of just 4.7%. The percentage of persistent absentees, those missing 10% or more sessions, has also dropped from last year with 20.2% currently compared to 21.2% in 2022/23. This is almost double the 2018/19 figure of 10.9%. This means a little over one-fifth of pupils are not attending for half a day a week or more.

There was a concerted effort with increasing the number of behaviour hubs under the last government and a pledge to create a register of those not in school. With the King’s speech to parliament happening on Wednesday, with education due to be part of the bills put forward, it remains to be seen what initiatives will remain, be adapted or changed.