Council analysis reveals post-lockdown rise in pupil absence

Analysis of data in Cheshire West and Chester Council shows that in September to December 2020, following the return to school after the national lockdown, the number of children who were persistently absent rose by a quarter compared with the same period in the previous three years.

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The council’s analysis of a group of schools found that persistent absence, excluding those linked to Covid-19, increased from 13 to 16 per cent in 2020, according to its report It’s Time To ACT: countering the impact of Covid-19 on pupils and schools.

These absences were disproportionately prevalent among disadvantaged pupils in secondary schools. Nearly two thirds (61 per cent) of persistently absent pupils were found to be eligible for free school meals, have experienced contact with children’s services or have a special educational need or disability.

For young people experiencing all three of these disadvantages, one in three were persistently absent after the summer 2020 lockdown.

Despite school exclusion rates in Cheshire West and Chester being lower than the national average, the analysis shows a 50 per cent increase in first-time fixed-term exclusions – from 62 to 93 pupils – in the autumn term alone.

The number of pupils experiencing repeat exclusions declined, although this group also experienced high rates of persistent absence, with one in four children missing 20 per cent or more of school.

Education charity The Difference provides support services to schools in Cheshire West and Chester. Its practitioners noted an increase in both the complexity of cases and in the number of pupils who had not previously sought support from local agencies.

Councillor Bob Cernik, cabinet member for children and families at Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “Locally, we are committed to taking an early intervention approach and supporting pupils with specific needs that may have been a result of past or ongoing trauma by using trauma informed practice, something that has been vital over this past year.

“We’re keen to use information in the report to give us further insight in this area and to help target our support to ensure children and young people are able to access the education they deserve and achieve their best.”

The report authors, not-for-profit organisation Social Finance, said the findings indicate changes in behaviours and emotional needs arising from pressures experienced during the pandemic.

Sara Parsonage, a director at Social Finance, said: “The full impact of the pandemic on children and schools is an emerging and complex picture.

“We’re calling on the government to use the data that is already available to support local areas to plan for response and recovery, as well as investing in infrastructure to support more timely analysis in future. This will develop local and national structures to support the use of data to make better decisions as communities’ needs change.”

There is concern that national pressure on schools to focus on "catching up" on academic attainment, could prevent pupils from accessing the support they need to stay in school. It calls on the government to provide councils with flexible funding that enables them to prioritise spending on emerging local needs.