Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of how many children are at increased risk of domestic abuse as a result of being severely absent from school.

Regular school attendance is vital for pupils’ educational attainment, wellbeing, and wider development. For those pupils most at risk of harm, it is also an important safeguarding factor.

Most absence from school is accounted for by illness. Pupils who miss more than 50% of possible school sessions in a school year are considered to be severely absent. In the 2021/22 academic year, the severe absence rate was 1.7%.

As part of the drive to improve school attendance, the Department published the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance last year, which makes clear the importance of addressing the barriers to attendance through strong, multi agency working at school, multi academy trust, and Local Authority level. This includes a specific focus on identifying and supporting those pupils most at risk of persistent and severe absence from school to tackle absence early and put plans in place to improve attendance.

Schools and Local Authorities should agree a joint approach to supporting severely absent pupils, recognising that their needs are often more complex, and they are more likely to need support from a number of agencies locally.

The statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)’ emphasises that safeguarding is the responsibility of all professionals who work with children. Where a professional has concerns about a child, they should make an immediate referral to Local Authority children’s social care. It is the responsibility of Local Authority children’s services to assess children’s risk of harm. The latest data from 2021/22, shows that domestic abuse remains one of the most common factors identified in Children's Social Care Assessments.

While there have been no specific discussions with my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, on severe absence, the Home Office and the Department for Education have regular discussions on areas of joint interest. This includes the Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed (SAFE) taskforces in mainstream schools and the Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforces, which involve specialist support for children disengaged from education to improve their attendance and reduce their involvement in serious violence. The Secretary of State for Education chairs an Attendance Action Alliance of leaders of key frontline services that support families. Members from education, health, justice, the third sector, and parent organisations meet regularly and have collectively committed to use their roles and organisations to undertake activities to improve attendance and tackle persistent absence from school.