Covid blamed as tens of thousands of children ‘persistently absent’ from school in Greater Manchester

Tens of thousands of schoolchildren across Greater Manchester were ‘persistently absent’ from school during the 2022/23 school year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal.

During the academic year, 77,654  pupils of primary and secondary school age across the city region did not turn up for class – and that figure does not include Tameside – which says its figures are not yet available – or Stockport, which is yet to respond to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The definition of persistent absence from school is categorised as attendance  less than 90 per cent.

We asked all 10 Greater Manchester authorities about their absence data after it came to light that some 13,000 pupils in Salford had been missing from school during the period.

A memo sent out by the city’s executive director of children’s services, Melissa Caslake has been seen by the LDRS.

It is headed: Miss School. Miss Out – Back to school in September.

In it she says that school attendance is ‘one of the biggest challenges that Covid-19 has posed to children and young people, impacting on their academic outcomes, well-being and safety’.

She goes on: “Evidence from a recent Children’s Commissioner report shows that attending school at the start of September is really important – children who miss the first few days of  term for unauthorised reasons have a predicted overall absence of 45 per cent in the autumn term.

“In Salford, we are asking all staff across all partners who have contact with parents and children to help to communicate the importance of a strong return to school in September.”

She said the city council was asking staff to consider whether they are worried about a child returning to school on the first day of September?; are they displaying anxious behaviours when discussing school?; Do they have a medical need that may not yet have been discussed with school?; and will they find transistion to a new setting difficult?

A spokesperson for Salford city council has confirmed the copy of the memo seen by the LDRS is genuine, although the authority’s official figure for persistent absences was released to us as 9,153.

They said: “There is a national link between areas of deprivation and below average school attendance.”

“In Salford, we intend to be proactive and will be working with schools from September 2023 to run a positive campaign to show the importance of school for children’s education and future prospects.

“Most children in Salford do go to school every day, but there are some who miss days off school for a variety of reasons and we want to support families by acting early and approaching issues in a new way.

“It’s much more difficult for children to keep up with their education if they miss even a few days of school and fall behind.”

School attendance figures are supplied to the Government’s Department for Education on a voluntary basis by schools, which means absence figures can only be estimated.

The number of presently absent pupils for the authorities is as follows with the total statutory school-age population in brackets: Rochdale 8,965 (38,288); Bolton 13,906 (56,697); Bury 3,673 (27,500); Manchester 19,912 (82,966); Oldham 10,100 (43,830); Salford 9,153 (36,068); Wigan 11,945 (46,425).

A spokesperson for Rochdale council said: “We are working with all our schools to promote good attendance.

“The council is part of the Greater Manchester Attendance Action Alliance and we work closely with partners to understand the range of factors which affect our children and young people who are persistently absent from school.

“In Rochdale borough, we have high expectations for every pupil’s attendance and have a range of support packages and strategies to support schools and families.”

Think tank the Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY) has responded to the figures.

A spokesperson said: “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is still casting a long shadow over schools and their pupils, and this is reflected in sustained higher absence rates since 2018/19. 

“We know that children and young people’s mental health has been in decline over the last decade, and the pandemic has both aggravated this trend and placed further pressure on the support that both education and health services can offer.”

They said that, beyond this, for all children, but especially those with additional needs, the disruption of long periods of time out of the classroom has made the return to school ‘a very challenging process which they are still working through’.

They added: “Meanwhile, we know many families are struggling with the pressures of the cost of living crisis, which may have an impact in terms of being able to afford school uniforms or travel for some pupils. In the worst cases, some families have lost their homes, leaving them to grapple with more significant issues than making it to school.”

Nick Jackson, Local Democracy Reporter