A group of charities has urged the government to tackle the school attendance “crisis” in the North of England, with analysis showing that this part of the country is worse affected by unauthorised absence.
Nine out of the 10 areas with the highest rates of unauthorised absence are in the North, according to an analysis of recent Department for Education .
A coalition of northern-based charities and organisations, including The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, the Centre for Young Lives and the Tutor Trust, is calling on the government to restore pupil premium funding to its 2014-15 real-term value in response this.
This would ensure that schools serving the most disadvantaged pupils “receive the funding necessary to deliver quality education to those in most need and take measures to support children who are missing school to attend”, the coalition said.
Pupil premium is a funding pot for state schools that allocates extra cash per eligible pupil to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children.
Far above average for absence
The worst rates of unauthorised absence in the North include Knowsley (7.3 per cent), Blackpool (5.9 per cent) and Bradford (5.2 per cent).
The national average for unauthorised absence is 2.9 per cent.
The coalition said the data showed the “urgent need” for the government to tackle the root causes of persistent and severe absence and “narrow the North-South education divide”.
More recent government data shows that the rate of persistent absence has improved compared with last year. However, the rate remains high compared with before the Covid pandemic.
Without urgent action, the “attendance crisis risks further deepening the inequalities already faced by many children in morthern communities”, the Northern Powerhouse said.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer previously promised to drive the same standards of excellence in education in the North and South, saying that it should not matter where in the country a child goes to school.
‘More of the same isn’t good enough’
Baroness Longfield, executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said that although the prime minister has set the challenge of addressing the North-South divide in education, “more of the same isn’t good enough”.
“Children growing up in towns like Blackpool and Hartlepool, where many schools are struggling as a result of the falling value of pupil premium, deserve the same opportunities as their more affluent peers in other parts of the country,” she said.
Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said that we ”cannot repeat the mistakes of the last government to try and do more and more from Whitehall”.
“That means instead locally delivered and tailored solutions, building on what worked in our in places including Blackpool and Bradford before the last administration abolished them,” he said.
Mr Murison added that the previous four prime ministers “let down the poorest kids” across England by lowering pupil premium, and called for the government to reverse the fall in the upcoming spending review.
The previous government introduced attendance hubs following a pilot project run by Northern Education Trust, which involved around 60 schools working together to tackle absence.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Tackling the epidemic of school absence is everyone’s responsibility - government, schools, parents and children. We need a national effort to get our kids back in the classroom.
“Persistent absence has improved this autumn term, thanks to the hard work of schools and parents, but there are still far too many children missing school.
“The pandemic has had a significant impact on absence and we must tackle those new challenges. This government remains laser-focused on tackling the problem and its drivers - ensuring attendance remains a key focus of school inspections, providing access to mental health professionals to all schools, and reforming the SEND system.”
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