There’s no doubt that the number of students with long term, persistent or serious absence is an issue faced by most schools across the country. The media has suggested that the problem has been made worse by the pandemic and certainly the figures available don’t lie. In April of 2023 the DfE’s figures showed school absences were 50% higher than before Covid 19. According to The Guardian “The national figures show that 7.5% of school days were missed in state schools from autumn 2022 to summer 2023, a rise of 60% compared with 2018-19’s overall absence rate of 4.7%.” (Figures relate to secondary schools 10/8/23). Persistent Absenteeism – students that miss 10% or more school time – is a huge problem. 22.5% of students fit this category compared to 10.9% pre-2020. This equates to 1.6 million students persistently absent from school (DfE figures 11/9/23).
Government data also identifies that 83.7% of students with good or average attendance will achieve levels 9-4 in English and Maths GCSE. This falls dramatically to 35.6% of students that are classed as persistently absent from school. The message is simple – the more time you spend in school the more likely you are to learn and achieve and the more likely you are to enjoy life socially and emotionally. The longer young people stay out of school the more likely they are to feel isolated, depressed and anxious with an increased chance of under performing in public exams and formal assessments.
Can it really be that bad?
90% attendance is equivalent to missing one half school day each week – calculated over a year this means 19 days missed. Over 5 years this is equivalent to 95 days missed – half a school year. Currently this means 1.6 million secondary students in the UK will have missed half a year of schooling from year 7 to 11. Students that miss 50% of their school time and who are out of school more that they are in are classed as severely absent.
Why do students miss so much school time?
Illness – either their own or that of a family member. This may be a long-term health condition and the requirement to attend medical appointments.
Mental Health – the pandemic has left in it’s wake an increase in the number of young people suffering from poor mental health including low mood and increased anxiety levels.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and family issues
Economic circumstances – the cost-of-living crisis is impacting parents’ ability to transport their children to school and provide the necessary uniform and resources for them to attend school. Some families are unable to afford a meal at lunchtime.
Bullying – many young people have cited the very real fear of having been or potentially being bullied at school and this prevents them from attending.
Habit/pattern – many students have been unable to reverse the trend of staying at home since the pandemic
Lack of parental engagement – there may be a lack of effective communication between home and school with some parents not fully understanding the impact of poor attendance, cultural differences, communication and language barriers may play a role in absence, parents’ own negative experiences of school and a lack of desire for them to be involved in their child’s education all have a part to play.
Ability - whether a young person has diagnosed/undiagnosed SEN or is struggling to access learning in lessons has a direct impact on their willingness to participate on school. This becomes a problem when more absence means more missed leaning time making it more difficult for a student to return to school and actively participate in lessons with confidence.
What are the overall effects of low school attendance?
The impact of low school attendance is far reaching and long term. Whilst young people and parents may feel at the time that they have “only missed a bit of school” or will be able to catch up, the effects go far beyond academic performance.
Friendships – young people feel the effects of being absent from friends leading to feelings of social isolation and an over reliance on online relationships.
Engaging in risky behaviours – young people not in school are more likely to become involved in drug taking, alcohol abuse and criminal activity. There is a higher rate of teenage pregnancy amongst young girls that do not attend school.
Young people that do not attend school regularly are at greater risk of exploitation.
Not being in school leads to increased levels of anxiety, depression/low mood and isolation.
There is a direct correlation between low school attendance and dropping out of education and training altogether. Those young people not attending school regularly have a much greater chance of underachieving which in turn has an obvious damaging effect on life chances.
How should the problem be tackled?
Early Intervention is the key to any problem faced by a young person but particularly in relation to poor attendance and the risks associated with it. Identifying the reasons for absence and implementing strategies to overcome barriers is the responsibility of parents and the school, with the help of alternative resources and agencies.
Schools can implement changes to the school day for students to feel better able to cope – reduced timetables, class moves, facilities where students can have “time out” and extra support when needed.
Setting out clear expectations and consequences for missing school may have a positive impact on attendance. Clear guidance from schools to parents about illness, authorised absence and how to support their child is necessary. Non-negotiables and high expectations can be good starting point for students that truant and miss large chunks of school.
Some schools/counties may be able to resolve the problem with transportation by providing a means of getting the young person passed the school gates or provide free school meals to those in real need.
Provision of extra support in lessons for absentees to catch up or access the curriculum is highly likely to have an impact on how a young person engages with school and learning.
Better communication with home/parents to find resolutions to issues or concerns is required if a student is to make changes to their attendance – parents that feel listened to and supported are more likely to work with the school to get their children to attend. Family engagement is key in motivating a return to school. Some parents have a misconception that a child will easily catch up following absence and are not aware of the consequences of missing so much school.
Mental Health provision – young people that have access to consistent support for their mental health are more likely to be able to improve school attendance whether this is provided by the school or other agencies.
Mentoring support – mentors create a unique and trusting relationship with young people that enables them to develop the confidence to get back to school. Mentors may work within the school setting, family home or in the community.
Support from children’s services and the local authority may resolve some of the issues preventing young people from attending school regularly.
How can TEAM help?
TEAM offers mentoring to those students struggling to attend school on a regular basis or who are absent from school altogether. Following years of experience of working with absent and truant students pre and post pandemic, I have a proven track record of improving attendance outcomes for some of the most hard to reach young people. Through a carefully planned and innovative approach mentoring can support most students in returning to school. With a consistent, empathetic and positive role model students feel empowered to tackle the barriers they face to being in school and with support can remove obstacles and look forward to greater academic performance and an improved sense of inclusion and wellbeing. If you have students that would benefit from this support either in school or visiting them at home/in the community please contact me below to discuss a support package .
website: teamentoring.com
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