Thousands more pupils attending school in the East of England

Across the country, 375,000 more children were in school almost every day last year

Classroom
Author: Shaunna BurnsPublished 13th May 2024

The East of England has seen huge improvements in the number of children attending school across the region.

Analysis shows 58,800 more pupils went to school nearly every day in 2022/2023.

Years 5,6 and 7 saw specific improvements in every day attendance with an 8.1% increase, meaning 6,800 more pupils were in school every day per year group.

Last year also saw a rise in SEND children attending, with a 2.7% rise.

The figures come as the Government looks to deliver the next phase in it's attendance strategy.

To do this it's launching a new 'in-depth daily data tool' which will help schools identify absence trends across different years groups and pupil characteristics so they can address areas of concern to drive up improvements in attendance.

The Department for Education is asking schools to use this tool to spot attendance trends and act quickly in helping pupils using a 'support-first' approach.

The latest tool data comes after the OECD has recognised England’s wide ranging and ‘comprehensive’ strategy for tackling school absence.

England’s attendance levels are significantly higher than those in Wales and Scotland. In the last year, pupils in England were attending school over a week and a half more than children in Wales, and nearly a week more than children in Scotland. Previous Government analysis also shows 440,000 fewer children were persistently not attending last year compared to the year before.

It builds on the Government’s success in raising school standards alongside the hard work of teachers and school leaders, with 90% of schools now rated by Ofsted as Good or Outstanding, up from just 68% in 2010. Pupils in England are now ‘best in the West’ at reading and have risen to 11th in the global maths rankings, up from only 27th in 2009, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study.

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said:

“As the OECD has recognised, and thanks to our brilliant teachers and head teachers, England is leading the world in our approach to helping children return to the classroom.

“Attendance is my number one priority. Alongside schools, I am one of the only Education Secretaries in the world to now have in-depth daily attendance data at their fingertips, giving the government, councils and schools the insights needed to target pupils who need the most support.

“Being in school has never been more valuable which is why we need to stick to our plan to drive up attendance and ensure every child gets a world-class education.”

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