New figures released from the Department for Education show that 450,330 children – 7.2 per cent – were absent from school for 15 per cent or more of the autumn 2010 and spring 2011 terms. This is the equivalent of missing a month’s worth of lessons in a year.
The figures also reveal that more than a million pupils (16.4 per cent) missed half a day or more of school per week, equating to 10 per cent of school time missed.
This is the first time that a new, tougher, persistent absence measure has been recorded, giving a clearer picture of the problem in our schools. The figures have failed to improve on last year.
Children who miss 15 per cent or more of school time are now recorded as persistent absentees. Previously, children had to miss 20 per cent of school to be viewed as persistent absentees. This is equivalent to more than six weeks of missed lessons in a school year.
With this new threshold, the Government is asking schools to step in to tackle absence sooner – before the problem really takes hold.
The latest figures show that, compared to autumn term 2009 and spring term 2010:
- Across state-funded primary schools and secondary schools, the percentage of pupils classed as persistent absentees increased, from 7.0 per cent to 7.2 per cent.
- In state-funded primary schools, the percentage of pupils classed as persistent absentees increased, from 5.0 per cent to 5.2 per cent.
- In state-funded secondary schools, the percentage of pupils classed as persistent absentees increased, from 9.3 per cent to 9.5 per cent.
Taken from
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