School attendance in Hampshire lower than before the pandemic
Absence levels in Hampshire are still high despite a decrease.
Last updated 22nd Jun 2024
Absence levels across schools in Hampshire are still higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic despite a decrease this academic year.
According to National Statistics, 6.7% of possible classes were recorded as absent in the Autumn term 2023/24 in England.
It’s a decrease from 7.5% the year before, but it is still higher than pre-pandemic rates, which were consistently below five percent.
Data has shown that in 2022/23, Hampshire County Council recorded seven percent of truancy in primary, secondary, and special needs schools combined.
Inclusion support service manager, Jon Willcocks, updated the local authority on the levels of truancy in the Hampshire at the Education Advisory Panel.
Mr Willcocks indicated that Hampshire schools are working “very hard” to improve attendance and making attendance a “key priority.”
Mr Willcocks said: “Headteachers are really mindful and really aware of the pressures around attendance.
“Our Hampshire schools are thoughtful, responsive and working very hard to improve attendance in young people.
“We are strengthening the current system, and we have to make sure that we are actually doing everything we can, collectively as a team, to make sure we work very hard to make attendance a key priority.
“Every day missed is a learning opportunity gone.”
Almost 18.5% of pupils were persistently absent in 22/23, compared with 17.7% in 23/24.
In regards to ‘persistent absentees’, Mr Willcocks said the council is “focused” on that area since it is higher than the overall absenteeism and despite a reduction.
In the last academic year, 23/24, the of truancies in primary, secondary and special needs schools have decreased slightly to 6.4% in Hampshire. This excludes Portsmouth and Southampton as they come under the two city councils.
Almost 18.5% of pupils were persistently absent in 22/23, compared with 17.7% in 23/24 and 19.4% nationally.
Homeschooling is also increasing in Hampshire and across the country as some parents indicated that ideology is one of the reasons for their children to learn from home.
The Department for Education has found the number of children being homeschooled has risen by 11,000 in one year across the country.
The same trend can be found across Hampshire too, as the County Council found there was 1,355 children reported to be in elective home education (EHE) In the 2020/21 academic.
That number has risen sharply in recent years, with the latest data indicating there are 3,593 children being homeschooled in 2023, compared with 623 in 2013.
Cllr Jackie Parker is a school governor, and she said that her school headteacher “has talked to parents saying that homeschooling children become lonely and isolated because they don’t have friends.”
Cllr Parker also said the county council have been working “carefully” to “remove barriers” and get children back to school “when ideology is the reason for homeschooling”.