The government must improve support for pupils with mental health difficulties and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to tackle the rising numbers of pupils who are persistently absent, MPs have said today.
A new report from the Commons Education Select Committee also calls on the Department for Education to instruct councils and schools to use fines for pupil absence only “as a last resort”.
And MPs say the government needs to introduce legislation in the next year to create a register for children who are not in school.
The MPs’ inquiry into persistent absence - pupils missing 10 per cent or more of their lessons - was launched at the start of the year amid concerns about the impact of the Covid pandemic on school attendance.
Today’s report includes the most recent full-year figures for 2021-22, which show that 22.5 per cent of pupils were persistently absent - around double the pre-pandemic rate.
It also highlights that 1.7 per cent of all pupils were severely absent - missing more than half of their education - compared with less than 1 per cent pre-pandemic.
Here are 11 key findings and recommendations in the report.
1. Improve mental health support
The committee warned there is “overwhelming evidence indicating a radical increase in mental health difficulties amongst school pupils” since the pandemic, and described the current capacity of mental health services as “grossly inadequate”.
The DfE must do more to improve help for pupils dealing with mental health issues, MPs said, calling for a “major cross-government review” of current support available both within and outside schools to be completed by summer 2024.
The committee said the DfE should introduce a mental health absence code “and set clear thresholds for its use”.
2. Tell schools and councils to use fines as a last resort
MPs have called for the DfE to deliver a national framework for use of fines and prosecution, but said it “should instruct schools and local authorities to explore methods of support for pupils and families before the use of fines or prosecution, ensuring legal intervention is a last resort only”.
The committee also warned that fines do not address barriers that low-income families face and can be counterproductive by adding to difficult financial circumstances.
3. Introduce statutory guidance
The report calls on the department to implement statutory guidance on attendance for September 2024, after a consultation.
The department initially planned to revise its guidance ahead of the 2023-24 academic year and said it would place it on a statutory footing when parliamentary time allows, but neither has yet been completed.
4. Improve support for pupils with SEND
The report calls on the DfE to “prioritise resource for inclusion and assessment in mainstream schools, to ensure they are adequately set up to support SEND pupils and address the current level of unmet need, and therefore improve their attendance rate”.
MPs also note in the report that pupils with SEND often have higher absence rates for legitimate reasons, such as being more prone to illness or having more than the average number of medical appointments.
It recommends the DfE “take greater care” when reporting these statistics to avoid unhelpful comparisons.
Committee chair Robin Walker said that the need for better SEND support, along with ”sky-high waiting lists for children’s mental health services”, is “putting incredible pressure on families and schools”.
5. Create a ‘long-awaited’ register for children not in school
The report also repeated its call for a register of children not in school to identify and support those not receiving a formal education.
MPs said this should be “fully operational for the 2024-25 academic year” and they therefore expect the government “to include a suitable legislative vehicle in the next King’s Speech”.
The government had planned to legislate for this in the Schools Bill before it was dropped last year.
6. Review free school meals eligibility
The committee said that, given that a major driver of low attendance is low income, measures to tackle child poverty should be considered in the DfE’s approach to improving attendance.
It said it should make an assessment of the eligibility criteria for free school meals and adjust if necessary to ensure all children in poverty are in receipt.
7. Look at the impact of breakfast clubs
Another recommendation relating to pupils’ food is for the DfE to require local authorities to report on school attendance levels for pupils who have attended a breakfast club or holiday club.
MPs added that if a significant impact can be demonstrated, the government should consider this in future funding decisions.
8. Review support and costs for low-income families
The DfE has also been urged to review its framework and guidance for supporting low-income families in meeting the costs of school attendance, in areas such as uniform and transport costs.
9. Launch a campaign on when to keep children off school
The committee suggests a public information campaign is needed to guide parents on when children who are unwell should attend school - including highlighting that coughs and colds should not generally mean children take time off.
10. Avoid using AP to manage behaviour long term
The MPs warned against the use of alternative provision settings as a long-term solution or to manage behaviour concerns, noting evidence that some pupils with SEND were being placed in these settings “without a proper understanding or assessment of their needs”.
They called for these alternative settings to “only be a time-limited intervention with clear structures to ensure each pupil’s needs are being effectively supported”.
11. Widen rollout of attendance mentors
The committee was “impressed” by the support offered by attendance mentors “in the few areas they are up and running”.
But “their success and the scale of the challenge we now face should point the way towards a national rollout”, Mr Walker said.
