Dr. Robert French is academic lead of ADR Wales’s education research programme. In this blog, he discusses his contribution to an inquiry begun by the UK Parliament examining persistent absence from school.
Levels of persistent absence from school amongst children have doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic. Statistics from the Department for Education show that, in England, one in five children are now persistently absent and the overall absence rate has increased from 5% in 2019 to 8% in 2022. These figures led the UK Parliament’s Education Select Committee to set up an inquiry into “Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils” to receive evidence from experts on this subject.
The focus of the Committee’s inquiry was how attendance is impacted for disadvantaged pupils by low income, poverty, and disengagement from education. To ensure the Committee were aware of all the reasons why children may be absent from school, it was important to highlight specific barriers to attendance for those with health difficulties.
Submitting the evidence
Along with colleagues from Cardiff University, I submitted findings from my own research relating to the absence levels of children living with type 1 diabetes. It found that:
- Children living with diabetes are absent from nine additional sessions a year compared with children without diabetes.
- Children experiencing challenges managing their diabetes missed 15 additional sessions of school a year compared with children without diabetes.
The impact of living with diabetes affects all aspects of a child’s life, from family and friendships to their self-esteem. Sessions may be missed for medical appointments related to the condition or illnesses as a result of living with diabetes. Due to unmet needs relating to their disability, many children have issues with attending school regularly.
Our evidence challenged the focus of persistent absence being solely due to behavioural issues and disengagement, instead drawing attention to the barriers to attendance for pupils with health difficulties. More awareness raising, training and policy implementation needs to happen to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities are not prevented from having their right to receive a complete education.
The government response
Central UK Government provided a written response to the inquiry in December 2023, with two of its recommendations relating to the evidence we contributed. One “…recognised that there could be clinical and other reasons why absence rates were higher in special schools and for children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.” A second said that the “Department would include wording to acknowledge that this cohort may have high absence rates for legitimate and unavoidable reasons.”
Where next?
Our team will continue to monitor the developments and input our research evidence, to inform policy changes to support children who are not able to attend school regularly.
Dr Jen Keating will consider the broader health determinants of school absence, with a focus on the timing of diagnosis. Dr Alex Sandu will consider the socioeconomic determinants, with a focus on the geographic variation in this association. Dependent on funding, we will also have a theme of work led by Dr Rob Trubey to further develop our understanding of school absence rates for young people living with type 1 diabetes.
Find out more about the ADR Wales education research programme found in the ADR Wales Programme of Work.
This article was originally published on ADR Wales. Read the original article.