Number of children in England missing school for prolonged periods has risen
Department for Education (DfE) data indicates that 2.04% of pupils were 'severely absent' in autumn 2024, up from 1.97% in autumn 2023.
It is the highest rate for an autumn term since current data began in 2016/17.
Overall, 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, compared to 142,487 in the autumn term of 2023/24.
In the autumn of 2019, the term before the pandemic, only 0.86% of pupils (60,244) were severely absent.
The data also suggests 17.79% of pupils in England, about 1.28 million young people, were 'persistently absent', missing at least 10% of school sessions, in the autumn term of 2024/25.
This is down on the same period in 2023/24 when 19.44% of pupils were persistently absent, but it is still higher than the pre-pandemic autumn of 2019 (13.14%).
The DfE said research shows that 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.
The former Conservative government announced plans to increase fines for parents who take their children out of class without permission, in February last year, as part of a drive to boost attendance since the pandemic.
In September, school absence fines in England rose from £60 to £80, and a parent who receives a second fine for the same child within a three-year period will now receive a £160 fine.
The latest figures show the overall unauthorised holiday rate in autumn 2024 was 0.47%, broadly unchanged from 2023 despite the increased fines, though the exact data indicates a very slight fall from 0.474% to 0.466%.
An analysis by the PA news agency found the unauthorised holiday rates in the autumn were down in most regions across England compared to the same period last year, apart from the North West, East and South East, where they reached a record high at 0.59%, 0.39% and 0.38% respectively.
Separate figures released by the DfE on Thursday showed that more than one in nine (11.6%) pupils in England were absent on the last day of this academic year (July 18), with 6.3% on unauthorised absence.
These were the highest figures for any day in the entire 2024/25 school year, but they are lower than the equivalent figures for the last day of the 2023/24 school year (12.7% and 7.0% respectively), PA analysis shows.
Overall, the pupil absence rate across the 2024/25 academic year was 6.9%, down from 7.2% last year.
Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'It is troubling that, even as absence rates are coming down overall, the percentage of pupils missing at least 50% of their education is rising.
'We need to focus on helping these pupils overcome the barriers preventing them from being in school on a regular basis.
'This means investing in attendance services, liaising directly with families to identify the issues at play and then ensuring specialist support is available as soon as required.
'We've got to do more to ensure these pupils receive a complete education and all the benefits this brings.'
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Overall, these figures are another small step in the right direction.
'It is clear however that there is still a long way to go to improve pupil attendance and that significant barriers remain for some children who missed a majority of their school sessions during the autumn term.
'Schools work tirelessly to ensure children are in the classroom, but they alone are not equipped to address all the deep-seated reasons for absence which can range from routine sickness to mental ill-health and social challenges facing children and families, including poverty.
'Fining parents is a crude tool which does not address many of the root causes, what is needed is better support for families and schools.'
Beth Prescott, education lead at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), said: 'Five years on from school closures, classroom absences can no longer be viewed as a post-pandemic blip.
'The material risk now is that this issue is becoming deeply entrenched.'
She added: 'Ministers must now build on the progress they have made and work with local charities and families to provide more absent pupils with the mentorship they need to return to school.
'But with the crisis deepening we need to attack the root causes of school absence, including softening parental attitudes to attendance and an education system that fails to engage thousands of young people.'
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'The record improvement in school attendance shows we are turning the tide on a crisis that saw a generation go missing from England's schools.
'Getting children back in classrooms, where they belong, is non-negotiable if we are to break the unfair link between background and success so we can build a fairer country, a cornerstone of our plan for change.
'When we tackle attendance head-on, everyone benefits – pupils get the consistent education they deserve, teachers can focus on driving up standards, and we build the stronger workforce our economy needs.'
A DfE spokeswoman said: 'We inherited a broken school system so we are taking decisive action through our plan for change to tackle the attendance crisis – and the latest data shows positive green shoots with the biggest year-on-year improvement in attendance in a decade.
'We are making huge progress with over five million more days in school this year and 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent, which research shows in time is likely to improve severe absence.'
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