Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP gave evidence to MPs this week, as part of the education select committee’s inquiry into persistent absences.
Chair of the committee, Robin Walker MP, opened the session by asking what the Department for Education is doing to drive down increasing absence rates. Nick Gibb said that since 2010, attendance has been a key priority for the department, alongside maths and reading. He referenced the Taylor review on improving attendance in 2012, and the decision to reduce the threshold for persistent absences from 15% of missed sessions to 10%. Additionally, the Conservatives had increased fines for unauthorised absences.
The minister argued that as a consequence of these policies and a focus on attendance, absences had decreased prior to the pandemic, from 6% absence rates in 2009/10 to 4.7% in 2018/19. However, he recognised that there was a post-pandemic challenge, with a rise in rates of both absences and persistent absences to unacceptably high levels.
In response to this increase, Nick Gibb said the DfE has published guidance and expectations for schools and local authorities, and begun to collect daily registration data from 80% of schools. LAs are expected to put in place attendance support teams, holding termly meetings and plan interventions for persistent and severe absences. Additionally, the department has set up an ‘Attendance Action Alliance’, bringing together education, children’s, social and health services. Gibb said that while there is an ongoing post-pandemic challenge, attendance was improving across this academic year.
Robin Walker expressed concern that, despite the large number of initiatives and expectations, recovery was slow and that there is a stubbornness on attendance rates. Walker asked the minister what was causing this, and what efforts were coming out of the Attendance Action Alliance.
Gibb argued that there are a range of issues keeping attendance low following the pandemic. He said there are still higher levels of illnesses, with parents more reluctant to send children to school when they have a mild cold. Additionally, more parents working from home made it easier for parents to look after their children when they are not at school. But, the minister recognised there were also increasing concerns about mental health and anxiety, which he argued did pre-date the pandemic.
On the Attendance Action Alliance, Nick Gibb said it was not just a talking shop, and real action was being taken. He referenced the attendance hubs, piloted by North Shore Academy in Stockton, and action being taken by the Royal College of GPs, by the police in safeguarding, and by the Chief Social Worker.
With feedback from school leaders in our regular roundtables, Schools North East has submitted written evidence to the select committee’s inquiry. The full submission can be read at the following link.
