A new report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) highlights the need for more physical activity in schools and investment in youth clubs to address the high number of children who regularly miss school. The report suggests that over one in five English children are persistently absent from school, double the pre-pandemic level. CSJ CEO, Andy Cook, commented that the lockdowns had eroded the “contract of trust” between schools and parents, warning of the potential for “unfulfilled lives, fractured communities, and spiralling costs to the taxpayer for picking up the pieces”.
To tackle the attendance crisis, the report says solutions need to include engagement with parents. It cites a poll of 1,200 parents revealing that around one in four felt the pandemic has shown it was not essential for children to go to school every day. The recommendations also call for the introduction of a “right to sport” to ensure each child has access to at least five hours of extracurricular activities per week. Mental health support should be expanded to cover all schools, and an existing government-funded mentoring project should be rapidly expanded.
The report also calls for a review into fines and prosecutions for poor attendance. Cook believes “treating parents as criminals” is not the answer. Ofsted’s new chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, added that regular classroom absence affected teachers as well as pupils. A spokesperson for the Department for Education said regular attendance was “vital” for children’s education and pointed to trained mentors already working with families of persistent absentees, whilst the Attendance Action Alliance was supporting practical support to schools to boost attendance.
Persistently absent pupils miss ten percent or more of their school days, an average of one or more days every fortnight over the school year. DfE figures indicate that 22.3% of pupils were persistently absent in the 2022-23 academic year, 17.2% in primary schools and 28.3% in secondary schools – virtually double pre-pandemic levels. Physical activity is seen as a key factor in engaging children with their education
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