Norfolk teacher warns school absenteeism could lead to 'lost generation'
Pupil absence is a "key driver" of the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in England
A teacher in Norfolk is telling us the next generation could end up feeling lost and detached from society- if more pupils continue to miss school.
A national report has found that growing student absenteeism in secondary schools has led to disadvantaged young people falling further behind their peers, since the pandemic.
"We need to see the strengthening of that social contract"
Scott Lyons also works for the National Education Union in Norfolk.
"Quality and systematic provision of education needs to improve.
This is where fresh funding needs to come down from the government to bolster provision for all different types of education that's needed.
He says it's not just schools and the Government who need to play their part in this:
"Before the pandemic it was schools responsibility for education and pastoral.
"While it was the responsibility of parents to ensure that their children were ready for school, prepared for it and willing to engage when there.
"Unfortunately that doesn't happen as much any more. We need to see the strengthening of that social contract between schools and parents".
The research in more detail:
Pupil absence is a "key, and growing, driver" of the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in England, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) think tank has said.
If disadvantaged pupils had the same level of absence as their peers in 2023, the attainment gap would have been almost one month smaller at age 11 and over four months smaller at age 16, the report said.
The analysis has suggested that the growth in the disadvantage gap since 2019 - the year before the pandemic - at age 16 can be "entirely explained by higher levels of absence" for disadvantaged pupils.
The research analyses data held in the National Pupil Database, as well as pupil absence data derived from the half-termly school census, to assess the disadvantage gap among state school pupils in England.
The researchers define disadvantage based on young people's eligibility for free school meals (FSM).
The report - funded by Sequoia Trust and Unbound Philanthropy - found that at each key stage of schooling, more than half of the gap is explained by the size of the disadvantage gap in earlier phases.
The analysis suggested that by age seven, nearly 60% of the gap at age 11 has already developed.
The attainment gap "widened" for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in Reception compared to their peers since the pandemic.
Children on Send support in Reception fell 0.7 months further behind between 2019 and 2023 - "one of the biggest gap-increases" of all the vulnerable groups considered at age five, the report said.
The think tank is calling on the Government to address the "root causes" of pupil absences in order to tackle the disadvantage gap.
The report recommends that the Government should prioritise early intervention and improve school readiness by increasing the early years pupil premium to match the pupil premium in later years.
It adds that the Government should prioritise training in child development and different types of Send and make it a mandatory part of initial teacher training and early career development.
What has the Government said on this?
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
"This Government inherited a system with a number of baked-in inequalities, and this report is further evidence that the absence epidemic is having a detrimental impact on children's learning and their future success.
"Getting more pupils attending school regularly is a top priority for the Government.
"Through our Plan for Change we are focused on tackling the root causes of absence. This includes supporting disadvantaged pupils to achieve and thrive by establishing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, providing mental health support in every secondary school and driving up standards through our new regional improvement teams.
"Combined, these measures will ensure every child gets the best life chances, no matter their background."