These are among the recommendations from an inquiry by the Education Select Committee into the troubling rates of persistent absence in schools post-pandemic.
The cross-party inquiry has concluded that growing demand for mental health services and SEND support, as well as increasing cost-of-living pressures and other issues, are compounding the already worsening attendance problems since the Covid outbreak.
Cross-party MPs on the committee have made several recommendations that they say could address attendance problems caused by the mental health crisis as well as better support SEND students to attend in mainstream schools.
The report – entitled Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils – also praises the DfE’s current attendance mentors pilot and urges progress towards a national roll-out.
And MPs want to see “food-based interventions” prioritised, including breakfast clubs, among a wider focus on enrichment activities as part of attendance strategies.
The report also calls for a national framework and new statutory guidance to end the “postcode lottery” of approaches to parental fines and prosecution and “ensure consistency across the country”.
The absence rate in England’s schools during the 2021/22 academic year was 7.6% – 2.1% of these missed sessions were unauthorised (DfE, 2023a). The absence rate is up from around 4-5% before the pandemic and shows no sign of reducing.
In addition, 22.5% of pupils in 2021/22 were persistently absent, meaning they missed 10% or more of school sessions – around double the pre-pandemic rate.
And 1.7% of all pupils were severely absent, meaning they missed more than half of sessions, compared to less than 1% pre-pandemic.
Broken down by phase, the figures show:
- Primary schools: 7% persistent absence and 0.6% severe absence.
- Secondary schools:7% persistent absence and 2.7% severe absence.
- Special schools:4% persistent absence and 5.8% severe absence.
And the latest figures from autumn term 2022, published in July (DfE, 2023b), show that while the absence rate decreased slightly to 7.5% and the severe absence rate stayed the same, the persistent absence rate has increased to 24.2%.
Committee chair Robin Walker MP said the reasons behind the absence figures are “complex and varied”, but raised his concerns about “worrying changes in parental attitudes” as a result of the pandemic.
However, the problems are being compounded by a range of other issues.
Unmet mental health needs
Figures from the NHS show that almost one in five children aged seven to 16 now have a probable mental health condition. However, the committee warns that mental health services do not have the capacity to cope.
The report states: “With CAMHS waiting lists at all-time highs, and pupils on three-year waiting lists in some parts of the country, it is evident that the current capacity of mental health services is grossly inadequate.”
MPs point to research by the charity Mind showing that only one in four children absent due to a mental health-related problem were able to get authorisation from their school – raising the likelihood of families being fined.
As such, the report calls for the introduction of a new mental health absence code with clear thresholds: “These thresholds should ensure only serious cases of mental health problems necessitate absence, as the consensus remains that the vast majority of children will be better off in school being able to socialise and progress their education alongside their peers.
“A new code, in required instances, will eliminate the need to repeatedly provide medical evidence in cases of known mental health difficulties.”
MPs also call on the DfE to lead a cross-government assessment of the scale of mental health difficulties among pupils and review the current support available, asking for a report by summer 2024.
Prioritise SEND support and resources
Absence rates are “significantly higher” among pupils with SEND and many witnesses told the inquiry that a “failure to meet the needs of children with SEND is the main cause of their absence” – with a lack of resources in mainstream schools a particular concern.
The DfE’s recent SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan included measures to train more educational psychologists and improved training for teaching assistants, but the report said that “it is evident that unmet need prevails as a very significant barrier to attendance”.
It recommends: “The DfE should prioritise resources for inclusion and assessment in mainstream schools to ensure they can adequately support pupils with SEND and keep that level of resource under review. Successful implementation of the SEND and AP improvement plan will be key.”
Cost of living
The report says the DfE must consider measures to tackle child poverty as part of its approach to improving attendance, including making “an assessment of the eligibility criteria for free school meals and adjusting if necessary, ensuring all children in poverty are in receipt”.
Witnesses to the inquiry said that “significant numbers of children living in poverty do not receive free meals”.
It is estimated that 30% of families on Universal Credit are “food insecure” while 69% of families on Universal Credit are not eligible for free school meals – this equates to 1.7 million children.
The MPs’ report warns that rising costs of transport and uniform can be barriers to attendance for disadvantaged families. MPs suggest supplementary guidance is needed so that “schools and local authorities can make informed decisions on how best to support low-income families”.
Meanwhile, MPs heard “strong evidence” that sports and enrichment activities drive attendance by helping children to develop positive relationships and improving their wellbeing. The report supports the idea of an “enrichment guarantee” to ensure more pupils benefit from extra-curricular activities.
The report also praises potential impact on attendance of food-based interventions such as breakfast clubs and the Holiday Activities and Food Programme – but says more proof is needed.
It urges the DfE to require local authorities to report on school attendance levels for pupils who have attended a breakfast club or holiday club: “If a significant impact can be demonstrated, the government should consider this in future funding decisions.”
Attendance mentors and hubs
The report supports the DfE’s attendance hubs plan and the roll-out of attendance mentors.
Launched earlier this year after a successful pilot in the North East, the DfE is designating schools to lead nine new Attendance Hubs. It is hoped the hubs will be able to support up to 600 schools, sharing effective practice and practical resources.
The attendance mentoring scheme, meanwhile, is funded by the DfE and run by Barnardo’s. It is entering its second phase following a pilot in Middlesbrough. The scheme involves one-to-one mentoring of persistently and severely absent students.
The DfE does plan to expand the mentoring programmes, but the MPs want to see a national roll-out and particularly noted the importance of placing whole-family support at the heart of the programme.
The report states: “We heard that the expansion does not go far enough, and we are persuaded that measures need to be rolled out nationally to support persistent and severely absent pupils effectively. Given the success of the pilots of the Attendance Mentors Programme, the DfE should start by implementing a national roll-out of attendance mentors, with whole-family support at the forefront of the programme for effectual support.”
Parental fines and a national register
MPs highlight a “lack of consistency” between local authorities in their approach to issuing fines. Schools minister Nick Gibb told the inquiry that fines can be suitable “if families are not prepared to engage” with support. However, many witnesses to the inquiry said that fining families “lacks support and compassion and should only be a last resort”. The report urges the DfE to produce a national framework and new statutory guidance for the use of fines and prosecution “to ensure consistency across the country”.
Elsewhere, the committee calls for legislation to enable the implementation of a national register of children in elective home education. This had been included in the Schools Bill that was withdrawn earlier this year. The MPs now want to see it included in the King’s Speech, due on November 7, so that it can be operational for the 2024/25 academic year.
Commentary
Committee chair Robin Walker MP said: “Missing school is damaging to children’s education, their development, future prospects, and in some cases it is a safeguarding risk. As we heard throughout our inquiry, the reasons for this crisis are complex and varied. Many in the sector are greatly concerned, even dismayed, that things aren’t returning to a greater degree of normality, and in the meantime children are missing out.
“What happened during the pandemic is a crucial part of the story of how we got here, and recent research suggests some worrying changes in parental attitudes as a result. But other key factors that interlink with the impacts of Covid, such as sky-high waiting lists for children’s mental health services and some children with SEND not getting the right support quickly enough, are also putting incredible pressure on families and schools.”
- DfE: Academic year 2021/22: Pupil absence in schools in England, March 2023a: https://tinyurl.com/5n8kvyxj
- DfE: Autumn term 2022/23: Pupil absence in schools in England, July 2023b: https://tinyurl.com/353thz3u
- Education Select Committee: Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils, September 2023: https://tinyurl.com/mtkjh4j7