City campaign to fight rise in school absences

More teenagers are skipping school in Bristol than the national average

A new city-wide social media campaign is being launched to tackle a rise in teenagers being absent from school since the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a report from Bristol City Council, persistent absences in the city rose to 26% in 2022 and 2023 - above the national average of 21.2%.

Green councillor Christine Townsend said should children feel "safe and welcomed" after the pandemic "instability".

Rebecca Mann from Easton, whose son has missed school due to anxiety in the past, said she is "excited and nervous" as he starts secondary school this week.

Ms Bailes said it has taken "hard work" to find the right secondary school for her son who had been excluded from primary school

"We lost my mum and he's just been diagnosed with ADHD," Ms Mann told BBC Radio Bristol.

"Because of his mental welfare there's been times where he's not been in school.

"New school, new teachers, the process the homework and also self-regulating his emotions - we don't know how that will be for him," she added.

Labour councillor for Hartcliffe and Withywood Kerry Bailes, said finding the right school for her son has been "a lot of hard work".

"My son missed over four years of school, he was excluded several times and the final one being at the start of year one," she said.

"He didn't go back to primary school until year five. We looked at lots of different schools. It took a tribunal, and there were many complaints."

Ms Bailes said she never felt listened to as a parent until she found the right school that offered the right support and did not make her feel "blamed".

Ms Townsend said families had "unstable" experiences of schools during the pandemic

High school pupils in Bristol attend 87 per cent of days compared with 91 per cent across England, the Local Democracy Reporting Service was told.

Experts believe lockdowns have had a lasting impact on many children and teenagers, with some now struggling to communicate and hold a conversation.

Before the pandemic, national attendance rates in secondary schools were around 94 per cent, but that dropped after schools reopened.

Bristol City Council's campaign aims to increase attendance rates, as concerns were raised that missing school affects the life chances of teenagers.

The council will launch its campaign later in the autumn

Ms Townsend said the campaign will be "aimed at both children and adults".

“The experience of locking schools down, opening them back up [then] locking them back down again was really unstable for families," she said.

"[The campaign will look at] reconnecting schools with their communities and building trust.

She said there seems to be something "more fundamental and across the board going on", connected to "the value of going to school".

"Children have got to feel safe, they've got to feel welcomed. They've got to feel like it's fun," she added.

The city-wide press campaign will launch in Autumn.