Around one in four pupils continue to persistently miss school, new government absence data shows, with high levels of illness last term partially to blame.
Statistics published by the Department for Education (DfE) this morning show 23.4 per cent of pupils have missed 10 per cent or more sessions so far this academic year.
Though this represents a slight fall on the figure for the autumn term, when persistent absence stood at 25.1 per cent, it remains much higher than pre-pandemic autumn 2019, when it stood at 13.1 per cent.
The rate for last autumn is higher than the 23.5 per cent peak reported in autumn 2021. But Covid absences were recorded differently then, and the DfE said the actual number of pupils persistently absent had fallen.
