Tens of thousands of children struggle to achieve good GCSE grades due to 'absence crisis'

Redhead student writing on a class at high school.

Tens of thousands of children will struggle to achieve good GCSE grades because school absence rates are still more than double pre-Covid levels, experts warn.

Many due to begin course work in September have missed large portions of their education as attempts to get them back in the classroom after lockdowns have failed.

And there are fears the “absence crisis” will affect their chances of academic success for years to come.

A quarter (26.6 per cent) of Year Eight pupils – 172,960 of those due to start GCSEs in September – were classed as “persistently absent” in the last school year, meaning they missed at least one in 10 days.

And 3.1 per cent – 20,125 children – were “severely absent”, which means they missed at least half of all schooling.

The figures were much lower before the Covid crisis. In the 2018-19 autumn term the persistent absence rate for secondary schools was just 12.7 per cent.

Beth Prescott, education lead at think-tank the Centre for Social Justice said: “The pandemic’s devastating impact continues in the shameful levels of absence across the country. The school absence crisis will have enduring consequences on the prospects of our children.

“This term, thousands of children across the country will be preparing to sit their GCSEs, yet evidence shows that every extra day of school missed lowers a pupil’s chances of achieving five or more good GCSEs, including English and Maths.”

The data comes from independent researchers FFT Education Datalab.

Statistician Katie Beynon, who helped compile the figures, said: “Persistent absence rates for secondary school pupils have improved little over the past year, and remain substantially higher than pre-pandemic. Rates among the most vulnerable pupils are particularly high.”

Department for Education data shows 25.3 per cent of all secondary pupils have been persistently absent this academic year so far, suggesting little progress has been made.

The Government has launched a drive to increase attendance and every state school in England will share daily attendance registers with the DfE and local councils, helping them to spot children missing school.

New rules will also ensure a parent fine is considered if a child misses five days for unauthorised absence.

A DfE spokesperson said: “Thanks to our fantastic teachers and school leaders, and our package of reforms to improve attendance, we are seeing rapid improvement, with now 440,000 fewer children persistently absent or not attending last year alone.”