The Children’s Commissioner for England has published a report on school attendance and the impact of children missing school in England. The report analyses Department for Education (DfE) data for academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22, looking at school absenteeism and Key Stage 4 results. Findings show: over a third of all pupils hit the threshold for either persistent or severe absenteeism in either Year 10 or Year 11; and persistently absent pupils in both years received worse GCSE grades than their peers who were rarely absent in both years. The Commissioner calls for the DfE to make attendance data sharing mandatory.
Read the report: Missing children, missing grades
Source: Children’s Commissioner for England
Date: 02 November 2023
