Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment her Department has made of trends in levels of school absence in (a) schools with 40% or more pupils in bands A-F of the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index and (b) other (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools.

The department collects detailed pupil-level data on attendance, which is disaggregated by a number of characteristics, including measures of disadvantage such as the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) and free school meal (FSM) eligibility. This data is regularly analysed.

The overall absence rate for FSM eligible pupils in 2022/23 was 11%, which is higher than the 6% absence rate for non-FSM eligible pupils. Similarly, the persistent absence rate and severe absence rates in 2022/23 were 36.1% and 3.9% respectively for FSM-eligible pupils, compared with 15% and 1% for non-FSM eligible pupils.

When overall absence rates are broken down by decile of the IDACI index, the data shows that the most deprived areas, 0-10% on the IDACI index, have the highest levels of absence at 8.3%, while the least deprived areas, 90-100% on the IDACI index, have the lowest levels of absence at 6.3%. A similar pattern holds true for persistent absence, with 25.9% in the most deprived areas, compared to 16.1% in the least deprived areas.

These patterns differ according to phase of school, with secondary schools in the most disadvantaged areas having significantly higher overall absence (10.2%), than primary schools in the most disadvantaged areas (7.0%).

The underlying drivers of school absence are many and varied. Amongst them are several linked to deprivation, including the increasing cost of living, child poverty, poor access to transport, resources and limited access to wider support services. Research has also shown that parental attitudes, child mental health and school belonging are strongly correlated with attendance.

This government is determined to tackle the generational challenge of school absence as it is a fundamental barrier to learning and life chances. Central to the department’s approach are stronger expectations of local authorities and schools, as set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which was made statutory on 19 August 2024. The guidance promotes a 'support-first' approach and sets out clear expectations on how schools, trusts, local authorities and wider services should work together and with families to address attendance barriers and provide the right support.

Every state school in England should now be sharing their daily attendance register data with the department, local authorities and trusts. These bodies can access this data through a secure, interactive dashboard which is maintained by the department, allowing them to identify patterns and target attendance interventions more effectively.