Persistent school absence is connected to significant issues of unfairness in the UK including regional disparities and poor external support for schools, a prominent educational psychologist has argued.
Current approaches to tackling school absences are falling short (Credit: Fly View Productions)
In an article published by The University of Manchester’s policy engagement unit, Policy@Manchester, Professor Caroline Bond draws on findings from the latest Child of the North and Centre for Young Lives report – which she contributed to as an executive editor – to advocate putting the interests and life chances of children at the heart of public policymaking.
“Disadvantage is a significant factor in poorer educational and long-term life outcomes – and there are clear links between geographical inequalities and school absences,” she writes, backing this up with statistics which show that the persistent absence rate is highest in the South West (22.2%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (22.1%), whilst Inner London and Outer London recorded the lowest overall persistent absence rate of 18.9% and 18.7% respectively.
Professor Bond warns that children who are not school ready, those with special education needs, are looked after or from certain minority groups are also among those at greater risk of adverse school outcomes.
“These adverse outcomes include not attending school, experiencing mental health difficulties, being excluded or not achieving at the expected academic level for their age,” she explains. “For instance, only 36% of children who were persistently absent in 2018-19 achieved expected grades in English and Maths compared to 78% of pupils who were rarely absent.”
And the University of Manchester academic highlights that school absence is also a safeguarding issue “with absent children at greater risk of criminal or sexual exploitation and/or serious violence.”
She writes: “Young people who were severely or persistently absent reported being 15% less confident at making friends compared to pupils with full attendance. Poverty and disadvantage leading to school absence is then compounded by disconnection from peers, adverse mental health outcomes and risks of harms, unemployment and negative outcomes.”
In her article, Professor Bond sets out a series of policy recommendations to assist decision makers in turning the tide on school absences - and identifies early intervention as “key” to success.
“Central and local government should support schools in both early identification and early intervention,” she argues. “Early identification would focus on children from disadvantaged backgrounds, with special educational needs (SEND), and those living in high-deprivation areas. Preventative interventions should focus on ensuring children are school ready, experience a sense of belonging and safety in school and experience an engaging curriculum offer.”
She continues: “The Department for Education should support schools to establish early screening methods to identify at-risk pupils before attendance issues escalate. This will enable schools to address learning, social and emotional or mental health needs early and work with community organisations to provide wider support for families.”
In addition to stressing the “urgent need” for schools and colleges to develop “more inclusive pastoral and academic systems to engage diverse young people with education,” Professor Bond calls on national and local government to “encourage closer collaboration between education, healthcare, and social services to provide integrated support for children and families facing complex challenges.”
She adds: “Multi-agency partnerships between local authorities, community organisations, and healthcare services can help to identify the root causes of absenteeism and work collaboratively to provide targeted, individualised support.”
‘Attending to absence: how can we improve outcomes for disadvantaged children?’ by Professor Caroline Bond is available to read free of charge on the Policy@Manchester website.