One in five children in Wales are now regularly missing school. The data was revealed by the Welsh Government as it launches a campaign to get them back to the classroom.
Education minister Jeremy Miles admitted attendance since the pandemic has not recovered as hoped. He said parents and carers "should be doing absolutely everything they can to ensure their children are in school".
Pupil absences have doubled since pandemic classroom closures and a "national effort" is now needed to address the problem, he added. The Welsh Government is now proposing to reduce the number of lessons missed to define persistent absence as part of efforts to address the problem.
The get back to school campaign follows dire warnings from head teachers and teaching unions about the social and economic effects of so many children, more often from less well-off families, missing out on their education. The Welsh Government has launched a consultation to help schools, pupil referral units, and local authorities to improve school attendance.
The consultation seeks views on the current definition of persistent absence, which is currently defined as more than 20% of school sessions, and views on cutting that to those missing more than 10% of school sessions – a school session is half a day.
