Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Children's Commissioner for England report Where are England’s Children? Interim findings from the Children’s Commissioner’s Attendance Audit, published on 9 March, what steps they plan to take to identify (1) how many children are currently missing from school, (2) why some pupils have never returned to school following the (a) 2020, and (b) 2021, lockdowns, and (3) those children who are most at risk of falling through the gaps in education.

The department welcomes the recent report into children regularly missing school from the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel De Souza. Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing, and long-term development.

Detailed pupil absence data is collected as part of the school census and published on a termly basis and the latest statistics will be published later this week. All absence data for England, including data at regional and local authority level, is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/.

The department has also recently launched a new live attendance data pilot which will help us identify and support schools where pupils are not regularly attending, and improve the flow of data between schools, academy trusts and local authorities.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, recently established an alliance of national leaders from education, children’s social care and allied services to work together to raise school attendance and reduce persistent absence. The Attendance Action Alliance has pledged to take a range of actions to remove barriers preventing children attending school. More information on the Alliance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/education-secretary-launches-new-attendance-alliance.

The department has also committed to a register for children not in school as part of our response to consultation. This will help local authorities undertake their existing duties to ensure children receive a suitable education and help safeguard all children who are in scope.