Phillipson ready to ‘redouble efforts' to cut down on absent pupils
She said progress was beginning to be made, despite government figures which showed the number of children in England who missed at least half of their classes rose to nearly 150,000 in autumn last year.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, she reiterated that tackling classroom absences was a 'top priority'.
'Reversing the harmful attitudes towards school attendance will not happen overnight. But we are beginning to make progress,' Ms Phillipson wrote.
'Now is the time to redouble our efforts to get more children back through the school gates.
'It's where they learn the habits that will shape them throughout life. It's where the building blocks of a healthy society are laid.'
The Department for Education (DfE) figures, released last week, showed 147,605 pupils were classed as severely absent – which means they missed at least 50% of possible school sessions – in the autumn term of 2024/25. That is compared to 142,487 in the autumn term of 2023/24.
The DfE said research shows a decline in the number of pupils persistently absent 'is likely to improve severe absence' in time.
It added that the rate of increase in severe absence is slowing down compared to the previous two years.
Ms Phillipson said the Government had started to 'turn the tide' with more than five million more days spent in the classroom in the past year.
She said children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in particular were missing chunks of time with plans to transform the Send system and expand mental health support in schools.
Among other plans, she highlighted attendance and behaviour hubs being rolled out from September and 'intensive, personalised support' for more than 500 schools facing the biggest challenges.
She called on parents and schools to play their part in ensuring children were spending more time in the classroom.
'We will only continue to drive absence down if we discharge our shared responsibility: parents… sending children to school, schools creating welcoming classrooms, and the Government providing support,' she said.
'That's how we build a brighter future for our children, and for our country too.'
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, described last week's attendance figures as 'another small step in the right direction'.
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