Community responds to secondary school absence report

A new report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), Breaking down the gap: The role of school absence and pupil characteristics, has found that soaring rates of secondary school absence have led to disadvantaged pupils falling further behind their peers since the COVID-19 pandemic, and calls on the government to address the underlying causes of school absences.

Helen Osgood, Operations Director for Community, the union for education and early years professionals, said: 

“This report shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds continue to have worse attendance and achieve worse outcomes at school. Schools and their staff work hard to encourage and reward attendance, but we know that there are often challenges at home, such as disabilities or caring responsibilities, that can be a barrier to school attendance.

“Community agrees that early intervention is key and has long campaigned on this issue, but this must be accompanied by multi-agency support for schools and families that addresses the issues preventing attendance. 

“Community will look to work with the UK Government to ensure that their curriculum and assessment review delivers outcomes that work for all students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

“Community welcomes the work already being done by the Government, such as the child poverty strategy, which supports children to attend schools through the provision of meals and other funded support. With educators, unions and the Government working together, we can deliver the supportive environment that will see attendance increase and all students receive the education they need and deserve.”