Pandemic wreaks havoc on education as a fifth of Nottinghamshire pupils miss at least 10% of lessons

The Association of School and College Leaders said schools work hard to improve attendances, but have received little support from local authorities due to government cuts.

It called on the Government to publish a “nationwide attendance strategy” to support struggling families and schools.

Department for Education figures show 22,889 out of 107,696 total pupils in Nottinghamshire missed at least 10 per cent of lesson time in the 2021-22 academic year.

It meant 21.3 per cent of pupils were persistently absent, significantly up from 10.3 per cent the year before and 9.4 per cent in 2018-19, the last full academic year before the coronavirus pandemic.

The overall absence rate in Nottinghamshire schools rose from 4.2 per cent to 7.4 per cent.

Across England, 1.6 million pupils were persistently absent, more than double the 800,000 who missed at least 10 per cent of their lessons in 2018-19.

The persistent absent rate sat between 10 and 12 per cent in recent years, but jumped to 22.5 per cent in the last academic year. The pandemic was the primary reason for the significant rise.

Julie McCulloch, ASCL director of policy, said, while absence rates were affected by the pandemic, “attendance continues to be challenging”, due to “escalating rates of poor mental health, poverty, and abuse and neglect, compounded by an erosion in local support services over the past decade”.

She said: “Schools work hard to encourage good attendance, but have little support as local authority attendance services have also reduced as a result of government cuts.”

The figures also show 120,000 pupils missed at least 50 per cent of their lessons in England last year, up from 80,000 the year before and 60,000 in 2018-19.

In Nottinghamshire, 1,683 pupils, 2 per cent, were severely absent throughout the academic year, up from 1,005 in 2020-21.

A Department for Education spokesman said: "The majority of children are in school and learning. We work closely with schools, trusts, governing bodies, and local authorities to identify pupils at risk of becoming, or who are persistently absent and work together to support those children to return to regular and consistent education.”