Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce unauthorised school absences.

The government recognises that school absence is a key barrier to learning. Thanks to the sector's efforts, more students are attending school this year compared to last. However, 1.6 million children remain persistently absent, missing 10% or more of lessons.

To address this, backed by £15 million, the government will expand the investment and reach of attendance mentoring. This will help to reach 10,000 more children and cover an additional ten areas which have some of the worst attendance rates across the country.

In addition, the department will roll out funded breakfast clubs to all primary schools so that all children are ready to learn. The department will also introduce new annual Ofsted reviews on safeguarding, attendance, and off-rolling. Mental health support is also being expanded, with specialists in every school.

The statutory ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance promotes a 'support first' approach, encouraging schools, trusts, and local authorities to work with families to address attendance barriers. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.