School attendance in England has fallen to the lowest level since January, according to the latest government data.
Nearly one in five secondary pupils was off last week, while teacher absences are also on the rise, figures show.
Pupil attendance at state schools was at 86.9% on 7 July – and just 81.2% in secondaries – down from 89.4% two weeks earlier and 91.5% a fortnight before that.
Staff absence has also increased, with 8% of teachers and school leaders off work, up from 6.5% on 23 June.
