Tackling absence is not a quick fix

Persistent school absence has serious and long-term consequences on children and young people. The latest data (Department for Education [DfE], 2024) shows a 20.5% persistent absence rate.

In January, a joint letter was sent by senior MPs Robin Walker and Steve Brine (2024), who chair the Education and Health and Social Care committees, to the Health and Education Secretaries suggesting that physical health-related persistent absence could be addressed by ‘a national public awareness campaign that offers parents advice on what to do if their child is showing symptoms of a mild illness’.

The idea that coughs and colds are one of the lead causes behind persistent absence has been peddled by the government for months. Last year, our healthcare leaders wrote a letter aimed at headteachers providing advice along similar lines (DfE, 2023).

While they acknowledge that there is a range of complex factors behind persistent absence, I feel we are missing the point. Tackling the persistent absence that is afflicting schools – and in particular secondary schools – will need much, much more than a ‘self-care public health information campaign’.