Persistent absence through pupil illness last term was well over double the rates seen before the pandemic, new figures have revealed.
Attendance data published today by the Department for Education also shows around one in four pupils has been persistently absent from school so far this academic year - missing 10 per cent or more of their lessons, but that this has dropped slightly this term.
Figures show that 23.4 per cent of pupils have been persistently absent across the 2022-23 academic year so far. The figure for the autumn term is higher at 25.1 per cent.
The DfE said: “The high persistent absence rates are driven by illness towards the end of the autumn term. UK Health Security Authority data shows that a number of illnesses all peaked at around the same time in December.”
The data shows that, in autumn 2022, 13.3 per cent of pupils were persistently absent solely due to illness - this is nearly three times higher than the figures for the last autumn term before the pandemic in 2019 when the rate was 5 per cent.
Pupils are classed as being persistently absent if they miss 10 per cent or more of their sessions. The department measures attendance in half-day sessions.
The DfE has also provided a breakdown for persistent absence by school type.
The persistent absence rate across the year to date was: 19.5 per cent in state-funded primary schools; 27.8 per cent in state-funded secondary schools and 40.3 per cent in state-funded special schools.
Last month, the Commons Education Select Committee launched a new inquiry into persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils.
The latest attendance figures from the department also show illness absence has increased this month.
In the week beginning 6 February, illness absence was 3.9 per cent, up from the first week of the spring term when it was 3.2 per cent.
However, it remains well below the levels seen in December last year when it was 9.1 per cent.
