Latest news with #BethPrescott
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Surge in benefits claims will follow school absence crisis
School absences are becoming 'deeply entrenched' and will push almost 180,000 pupils onto benefits, experts have said. Government data published on Thursday showed severe absence levels among pupils in England reached a record high for an autumn term last year, although overall attendance improved. More than 147,600 pupils were classed as severely absent in the autumn term of 2024, meaning they missed at least half of classes. It is up from the year before and marks the highest rate for an autumn term since comparable data began in 2016-17. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank warned that without urgent action, the absences would drive up the number of young people missing out on future education, employment or training by nearly 180,000. This means almost twice as many teenagers risk falling out of the system as if absence had returned to its pre-pandemic level. The think tank said this would create an estimated lifetime cost to the taxpayer of £14bn. Beth Prescott, the education lead at the 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. 'This is not just an educational problem. It is sending a bow wave of harm through our economy, driving more young people towards a life of wasted potential and benefit dependency.' Severe absence is typically lower during the autumn term, and while the latest figures are shy of a record 172,900 pupils marked as severely absent in summer 2023, the CSJ said the trend 'remains on an alarmingly upwards trajectory'. The independent think tank, which was set up by former Tory leader Sir Ian Duncan Smith, also warned progress remained 'slow' in reducing the level of pupils classed as persistently absent – meaning they miss at least a day of school each fortnight. The proportion of persistently absent pupils fell from 19.4 per cent in autumn 2023 to 17.8 per cent in the same term last year, latest fata show. This equates to 1.28 million children across England absent from class at least once every two weeks – down from 1.41 million in 2023 but still 40 per cent higher than in autumn 2019. Ms Prescott said: '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.' It follows warnings that protracted school closures during the pandemic are likely to have fractured the unwritten social contract that says parents should send their children to school each day. 'Turning the tide' Experts including former Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman have suggested stubbornly high absence rates may be in part owing to parents' continuing working from home habits long after the pandemic. However, other data published by the Department for Education (DfE) on Thursday showed a brightening picture for overall attendance. The overall absence rate dropped from 6.69 per cent to 6.38 per cent, meaning around six out of every 100 pupils were missing from the classroom on a typical school day. The DfE said the slight improvement was equivalent to around 5.3 million more days spent in school for pupils in England. Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, said it showed 'we are turning the tide on a crisis that saw a generation go missing from England's schools'. 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.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Soaring numbers of children skipping classes risks leaving 180,000 youngsters on the jobs scrapheap, think tank warns
Almost 180,000 pupils are set for a life of unemployment due to 'troubling' school absence rates, a think tank has warned. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) said that, without intervention, the high rates of children bunking off school will translate into joblessness. It said the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) is set to rise as a result. The latest data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows that the number of children missing at least half of school time – defined as 'severely absent' – has risen. A total of 147,605 children — 2.04 per cent of pupils — missed at least half of school sessions in autumn 2024, up from 1.97 per cent a year earlier. Although this remains below the record high of 172,938 in the summer of 2023, the CSJ said 'the trend remains on an alarmingly upwards trajectory'. The think tank found that children who received free school meals were nearly four times more likely than their peers to be severely absent. Meanwhile those with special educational needs were seven times more likely. Beth Prescott, the education lead at the 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. 'It is sending a wave of harm through our economy, driving more young people towards a life of wasted potential and benefit dependency.' She said the Government should help local charities to provide mentors to help children attend school. But she added: '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.' The CSJ conducted modelling based on previous studies which suggested there could be 175,000 Neet 16-18 year olds due to absence between 2024/25 and 2028/29. However, the DfE pointed out that other measures of absence painted a rosier picture. The latest data shows overall absence rate dropped from 6.69 per cent to 6.38 per cent, meaning that on average six out of every 100 pupils were off on a typical school day. Persistent absence, defined as missing at least 10 per cent of sessions, or a day per fortnight, fell from 19.4 per cent to 17.8 per cent. This equates to 1.28 million children, down from 1.41 million the year before, although the figure remains 40 per cent higher than in autumn 2019. A DfE spokesperson 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. 'We know there is more to do, which is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs, improving mental health support, ensuring earlier intervention for children with special educational needs and will set out our vision for the school system in the white paper later this year.'
South Wales Guardian
10-07-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
School suspensions and exclusions in England reach record high
There were 954,952 suspensions in the 2023/24 academic year, compared with 786,961 in 2022/23 – an increase of more than a fifth (21%) in a year. There were 10,885 permanent exclusions in 2023/24, compared with 9,376 the year before – a rise of 16%, according to the Department for Education (DfE) data. The rise comes amid warnings of challenging behaviour in classrooms following the Covid-19 pandemic. Suspensions – which are when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time – in primary schools rose by nearly a quarter in a year. Figures released on Thursday show that suspensions for pupils in state primary schools rose by 24%, from 84,264 in 2022/23 to 104,803 in 2023/24. Meanwhile, suspensions for secondary school pupils rose by 21% in a year, from 685,930 to 829,896. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason for sanctions, accounting for 51% of all reasons given for suspension and 39% for exclusion. Suspensions and exclusions peaked in the 2023/24 autumn term, where there were 346,279 suspensions and 4,168 permanent exclusions in a single term. The number of suspensions and exclusions in England is the highest since at least 2006/07, when the latest DfE data begins. Pupils on free school meals and those with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) continue to see high levels of suspensions and permanent exclusions, the DfE said. Education minister Stephen Morgan said: 'Every moment in the classroom counts – but with almost one million suspensions in the 2023 academic year, the evidence is clear that this Government's inheritance was classrooms in chaos, with swathes of the next generation cut off from the opportunity to get on in life. 'Through our plan for change, we've wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour, including by providing access to mental health support in every school, making sure every child gets the fuel they need to learn through free breakfast clubs and expanding free school meals, and launching our new attendance and behaviour hubs which will directly support the 500 schools that need the most help. 'We're also continuing to listen to parents as we reform the Send system, while already putting in place better and earlier support for speech and language needs, ADHD and autism and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.' Beth Prescott, education lead at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank, said: 'There is a crisis of bad behaviour disrupting classrooms.' She added: 'Government and schools have an important role to play, but our research shows that parents also need to up their game and take responsibility for their children's behaviour in class. 'There has been a fundamental breakdown in the school-parent social contract.' Carol Homden, chief executive of Coram charity, said: 'Year on year the numbers of children excluded from school on a temporary and on a permanent basis continue to rise, but this year's significant rise must be a wake-up call.' She added: 'This epidemic of exclusion must also be faced head on by the Government while addressing the current crisis in special educational needs and disability provision, in order to make our children's right to a suitable education a reality.' Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Schools have a duty to provide a safe environment for all pupils and only use suspensions and exclusions when other options to ensure this have been exhausted. 'The reasons for disruptive behaviour often lie beyond the school gates and have their roots in wider challenges, including everything from poverty to access to support with special educational needs and mental ill-health. 'Schools work tirelessly to support pupils, but they alone cannot address the causes and symptoms of poor behaviour. 'They need back-up in the shape of additional investment in vital services like social care, children's mental health, behaviour support teams, and special educational needs provision, which have been reduced or failed to keep up with demand over the last decade.' Sophie Schmal, director of Chance UK charity, said: 'The latest figures released today reveal a shocking picture, particularly for some of our youngest and most vulnerable children. 'When you have children as young as five and six years old being permanently excluded from school, then clearly something is going very wrong. 'Every day, we see children and families being let down by a system that is failing to support them early enough.'
North Wales Chronicle
10-07-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
School suspensions and exclusions in England reach record high
There were 954,952 suspensions in the 2023/24 academic year, compared with 786,961 in 2022/23 – an increase of more than a fifth (21%) in a year. There were 10,885 permanent exclusions in 2023/24, compared with 9,376 the year before – a rise of 16%, according to the Department for Education (DfE) data. The rise comes amid warnings of challenging behaviour in classrooms following the Covid-19 pandemic. Suspensions – which are when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time – in primary schools rose by nearly a quarter in a year. Figures released on Thursday show that suspensions for pupils in state primary schools rose by 24%, from 84,264 in 2022/23 to 104,803 in 2023/24. Meanwhile, suspensions for secondary school pupils rose by 21% in a year, from 685,930 to 829,896. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason for sanctions, accounting for 51% of all reasons given for suspension and 39% for exclusion. Suspensions and exclusions peaked in the 2023/24 autumn term, where there were 346,279 suspensions and 4,168 permanent exclusions in a single term. The number of suspensions and exclusions in England is the highest since at least 2006/07, when the latest DfE data begins. Pupils on free school meals and those with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) continue to see high levels of suspensions and permanent exclusions, the DfE said. Education minister Stephen Morgan said: 'Every moment in the classroom counts – but with almost one million suspensions in the 2023 academic year, the evidence is clear that this Government's inheritance was classrooms in chaos, with swathes of the next generation cut off from the opportunity to get on in life. 'Through our plan for change, we've wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour, including by providing access to mental health support in every school, making sure every child gets the fuel they need to learn through free breakfast clubs and expanding free school meals, and launching our new attendance and behaviour hubs which will directly support the 500 schools that need the most help. 'We're also continuing to listen to parents as we reform the Send system, while already putting in place better and earlier support for speech and language needs, ADHD and autism and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.' Beth Prescott, education lead at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank, said: 'There is a crisis of bad behaviour disrupting classrooms.' She added: 'Government and schools have an important role to play, but our research shows that parents also need to up their game and take responsibility for their children's behaviour in class. 'There has been a fundamental breakdown in the school-parent social contract.' Carol Homden, chief executive of Coram charity, said: 'Year on year the numbers of children excluded from school on a temporary and on a permanent basis continue to rise, but this year's significant rise must be a wake-up call.' She added: 'This epidemic of exclusion must also be faced head on by the Government while addressing the current crisis in special educational needs and disability provision, in order to make our children's right to a suitable education a reality.' Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Schools have a duty to provide a safe environment for all pupils and only use suspensions and exclusions when other options to ensure this have been exhausted. 'The reasons for disruptive behaviour often lie beyond the school gates and have their roots in wider challenges, including everything from poverty to access to support with special educational needs and mental ill-health. 'Schools work tirelessly to support pupils, but they alone cannot address the causes and symptoms of poor behaviour. 'They need back-up in the shape of additional investment in vital services like social care, children's mental health, behaviour support teams, and special educational needs provision, which have been reduced or failed to keep up with demand over the last decade.' Sophie Schmal, director of Chance UK charity, said: 'The latest figures released today reveal a shocking picture, particularly for some of our youngest and most vulnerable children. 'When you have children as young as five and six years old being permanently excluded from school, then clearly something is going very wrong. 'Every day, we see children and families being let down by a system that is failing to support them early enough.'
Leader Live
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
School suspensions and exclusions in England reach record high
There were 954,952 suspensions in the 2023/24 academic year, compared with 786,961 in 2022/23 – an increase of more than a fifth (21%) in a year. There were 10,885 permanent exclusions in 2023/24, compared with 9,376 the year before – a rise of 16%, according to the Department for Education (DfE) data. The rise comes amid warnings of challenging behaviour in classrooms following the Covid-19 pandemic. Suspensions – which are when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time – in primary schools rose by nearly a quarter in a year. Figures released on Thursday show that suspensions for pupils in state primary schools rose by 24%, from 84,264 in 2022/23 to 104,803 in 2023/24. Meanwhile, suspensions for secondary school pupils rose by 21% in a year, from 685,930 to 829,896. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason for sanctions, accounting for 51% of all reasons given for suspension and 39% for exclusion. Suspensions and exclusions peaked in the 2023/24 autumn term, where there were 346,279 suspensions and 4,168 permanent exclusions in a single term. The number of suspensions and exclusions in England is the highest since at least 2006/07, when the latest DfE data begins. Pupils on free school meals and those with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) continue to see high levels of suspensions and permanent exclusions, the DfE said. Education minister Stephen Morgan said: 'Every moment in the classroom counts – but with almost one million suspensions in the 2023 academic year, the evidence is clear that this Government's inheritance was classrooms in chaos, with swathes of the next generation cut off from the opportunity to get on in life. 'Through our plan for change, we've wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour, including by providing access to mental health support in every school, making sure every child gets the fuel they need to learn through free breakfast clubs and expanding free school meals, and launching our new attendance and behaviour hubs which will directly support the 500 schools that need the most help. 'We're also continuing to listen to parents as we reform the Send system, while already putting in place better and earlier support for speech and language needs, ADHD and autism and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.' Beth Prescott, education lead at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank, said: 'There is a crisis of bad behaviour disrupting classrooms.' She added: 'Government and schools have an important role to play, but our research shows that parents also need to up their game and take responsibility for their children's behaviour in class. 'There has been a fundamental breakdown in the school-parent social contract.' Carol Homden, chief executive of Coram charity, said: 'Year on year the numbers of children excluded from school on a temporary and on a permanent basis continue to rise, but this year's significant rise must be a wake-up call.' She added: 'This epidemic of exclusion must also be faced head on by the Government while addressing the current crisis in special educational needs and disability provision, in order to make our children's right to a suitable education a reality.' Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Schools have a duty to provide a safe environment for all pupils and only use suspensions and exclusions when other options to ensure this have been exhausted. 'The reasons for disruptive behaviour often lie beyond the school gates and have their roots in wider challenges, including everything from poverty to access to support with special educational needs and mental ill-health. 'Schools work tirelessly to support pupils, but they alone cannot address the causes and symptoms of poor behaviour. 'They need back-up in the shape of additional investment in vital services like social care, children's mental health, behaviour support teams, and special educational needs provision, which have been reduced or failed to keep up with demand over the last decade.' Sophie Schmal, director of Chance UK charity, said: 'The latest figures released today reveal a shocking picture, particularly for some of our youngest and most vulnerable children. 'When you have children as young as five and six years old being permanently excluded from school, then clearly something is going very wrong. 'Every day, we see children and families being let down by a system that is failing to support them early enough.'
