Council concern over Hampshire pupils not attending school

Data from the Department for Education shows that persistent absence is now at a record high

School attendance is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, an authority has said.

Primary and secondary school pupils in Hampshire had an average attendance rate of 95.4% in 2018-2019 - but since coronavirus, that figure has dropped to 92.7%.

Hampshire County Council said it meant 18,000 fewer pupils were attending school as regularly as they should.

It added the numbers were "a concern" but that things were improving.

Attendance figures in Hampshire sat slightly higher than the 2021-2022 national average, which was 92.4%.

The autumn term officially began for most schools in the county on 1 September, with many opting to make a return on the following Monday.

The council said it was doing all it could going forward to encourage children to be in school consistently.

Cabinet member for education Steve Forster said: "Children have experienced prolonged disruption in recent years to their learning, and to their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

"In Hampshire, as across the country, we are still experiencing the after-effects of this as children continue to catch up on lost time in school."

He added that he was urging families to prioritise attendance from the very beginning of the new school year in September, to help their children make the strongest possible start from day one.

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Previously, England's children's commissioner said some pupils had missed school on Fridays since the pandemic because their parents were at home.

Dame Rachel de Souza told MPs there was "a huge amount" of absence on Fridays that was not there before.

The government said it was providing help for regularly absent children.

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