Hundreds of pupils are staying off school

NEARLY 800 MISSED MORE THAN 50% OF SCHOOL TIME

- ANDY PHILLIPS

ALMOST 800 pupils in Plymouth missed half their school time in the last academic year according to an analysis of data by Labour – who are proposing measures to clamp down on the problem.

Rates of ‘severe absence’ – defined as pupils missing more than 50% of school time – rose to 785 pupils in Plymouth alone in the 2022-23 autumn and spring term, according to data take from the Department for Education.

That is more than six times the rate from the same period in the 2016-17 school year, and more than double that of the 2020-21 autumn and spring terms.

Nationally, rates of severe absence in the same periods have more than trebled from 2016-17 to 138,905 in the 2022-23 school year, but Labour are warning that the problem is in danger of spiralling ‘out of control’ in Plymouth.

A child is deemed persistently absent if they miss 10% of lessons or more, and severely absent if they miss 50% of lessons or more.

Over the course of a year, missing 10% of lessons would equate to four weeks’ worth of schooling, while missing half is the equivalent of missing four months of school.