Some 44 per cent of children in need were persistently absent from school last year, the latest shows.
A large majority (89 per cent) of children in need, which includes looked-after children and children on a child protection plan, enrolled at alternative provision were also persistently absent last year.
These rates have remained relatively stable since 2020. Before the pandemic, around one in three children in need were persistently absent, meaning that they missed 10 per cent or more of their school sessions.
For the current academic year, persistent absence in the general pupil population has started to decline.
The proportion of children in need who are severely absent - meaning that they miss 50 per cent or more of their school sessions - has been rising since 2020, reaching 11 per cent last year. This is compared with 2.5 per cent of all pupils who were severely absent.
Tackling pupil absence
A recent report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) says schools need more targeted funding to develop and expand interventions to tackle absence.
The NFER recommended funding directed towards home visits, recruiting more pastoral staff, tailored support for disadvantaged students and investment in child mental health and family support services.
The NASUWT teaching union has also said that the government must recognise resource challenges in schools and for agencies working with children, or changes to improve behaviour will not work.
The percentage of children in need with at least one suspension has been rising since 2020-21 to 14 per cent in the latest available data for 2022-23. There has also been a rise in the percentage of children in need permanently excluded.
The DfE has said it will set out its strategy on behaviour soon.
More than half of children in need as of 31 March 2024 have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) - more than twice the figure for the overall pupil population.
The DfE has also said it will set out more on its plans to reform the SEND system later this year.
Tom Rees, CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust, has been appointed to lead a group on improving inclusion in mainstream schools.
Today’s data also shows that pupils in key social care groups have lower attainment than the overall pupil population across all key stage 4 attainment measures.
The average Attainment 8 score for children in need fell by 0.7 between 2022-23 and 2023-24, compared with a 0.4 fall for the general pupil population.
The average Progress 8 score for children in need last year was -1.57 compared with -0.03 for all pupils. This is slightly lower than pre-pandemic, when the average Progress 8 score for children in need was -1.49.
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