Northern Ireland is the latest part of the UK to raise serious concerns about school attendance.
Last week a summit was held by the Northern Ireland Department of Education to “address serious pupil attendance issues at school”, with particular focus on trends since the start of the Covid pandemic.
That came after a call from children’s commissioner Chris Quinn for “urgent action” on rising school absence rates in Northern Ireland, with figures for 2021-22 showing it to be the worst year on record.
In both 2021-22 and 2022-23 about 30 per cent of pupils in Northern Ireland had absence rates classed at “chronic” (more than 10 per cent of days missed) or “severe chronic” (more than 20 per cent of days missed).
The rate of persistent absence in Northern Ireland is higher than in England and Wales, but comparisons with Scotland are harder because of how absence is recorded there.
‘Downward trend’ in school attendance
Before the attendance summit, Department of Education permanent secretary Mark Browne said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the views and perceptions of society in many different ways and the message around the importance of school attendance has been diluted.
“So all of us in education need to work together to help reverse the downward trend in school attendance.”
The summit included presentations on improving attendance and supporting pupils through the use of social workers and restorative practice in schools.
Dr Browne added: “Everyone has a role to play in encouraging and supporting our children and young people from an early age to develop a positive attitude to learning, recognise the benefits of school and build positive routines.
“We recognise that schools can’t resolve the attendance challenge alone and that often poor attendance results from wider societal and familial challenges. Promoting better attendance at school requires practical and affordable solutions which work for schools, families and communities alike.”
In October Claire McClelland, the Department of Education’s director of raising aspiration, supporting learning and empowering improvement, told BBC News NI that there was a range of reasons for high absence rates, including Covid and poor mental health. There has also been a rise in recent years in pupils being taken out of schools for family holidays during term time.
Ms McClelland suggested that extended Covid lockdowns had perhaps led to “some complacency” about the importance of going to school.
While 2021-22 school attendance figures have been published by the Northern Ireland Department of Education, 2022-23 trends were reported in a media briefing, with figures for that year due to be published in February 2024.
