A fifth of pupils are persistently absent in Nottinghamshire schools
A fifth of students were persistently missing school in Nottinghamshire schools in autumn last year, new figures show.
School unions have warned fining parents is a ‘crude tool’, calling for better support for schools and families to address the root cause of students missing out on education.
Figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show 19,098 students in Nottinghamshire were persistently absent, meaning they missed 10 per cent or more school sessions, in the 2024-25 autumn term.
They accounted for 18 per cent of students in the area – down from 20 per cent the year before.
Meanwhile, two per cent of pupils in the area were severely absent, missing 50 per cent or more of sessions.
Margaret Mulholland, SEND and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "It is troubling that, even as absence rates are coming down overall, the percentage of pupils missing at least 50 per cent of their education is rising.
"We need to focus on helping these pupils overcome the barriers preventing them from being in school on a regular basis.
"This means investing in attendance services, liaising directly with families to identify the issues at play and then ensuring specialist support is available as soon as required.
Paul Whiteman, General secretary at school leaders' union the NAHT said the figures are a ‘small step in the right direction’, but warned there is ‘a long way to go’ to improve attendance.
He added: "Schools work tirelessly to ensure children are in the classroom, but they alone are not equipped to address all the deep-seated reasons for absence which can range from routine sickness to mental ill-health and social challenges facing children and families, including poverty.
"Fining parents is a crude tool which does not address many of the root causes, what is needed is better support for families and schools."
Beth Prescott, education lead at the Centre for Social Justice, said: "Five years on from school closures, classroom absences can no longer be viewed as a post-pandemic blip.
"The material risk now is that this issue is becoming deeply entrenched.
"Ministers must now build on the progress they have made and work with local charities and families to provide more absent pupils with the mentorship they need to return to school.
"But with the crisis deepening we need to attack the root causes of school absence, including softening parental attitudes to attendance and an education system that fails to engage thousands of young people."
Bridget Phillipson MP (Lab), Education Secretary, said: "Getting children back in classrooms, where they belong, is non-negotiable if we are to break the unfair link between background and success so we can build a fairer country, a cornerstone of our plan for change."
A DfE spokesperson said: "We are taking decisive action to tackle the attendance crisis – and the latest data shows positive green shoots with the biggest year-on-year improvement in attendance in a decade.
"We are making huge progress with more than five million more days in school this year and 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent, which research shows in time is likely to improve severe absence."