Wiltshire school data shows 17% of pupils 'persistently absent'

The Department for Education (DfE) has been collecting data on school attendance through a new platform

Attendance data shows that 17% of pupils in Wiltshire schools were recorded as persistently absent, which means missing more than 10% of school sessions, as of February.

This equates to 7,910 pupils out of 46,595 across the county.

The data has been gathered from the Department for Education's (DfE) Wonde platform.

It has been collecting daily attendance figures since 2022 from schools that have agreed to share their information.

Although this means the numbers are not fully verified, the DfE says the platform will help improve attendance by identifying trends and pupils who need support, says the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The DfE hope the new platform will help to boost attendance

At Wiltshire Council's Children's Select Committee meeting on 13 March, councillors were shown figures from the current academic year, up to Friday, 23 February.

It showed that 17% of pupils in Wiltshire were recorded as persistently absent, compared to 20.6% of pupils at a national level.

Children who have missed more than 50% of school sessions are considered 'severely absent'.

Some 1.8% of Wiltshire pupils were recorded as severely absent, which amounts to to 862 children.

Overall, Wiltshire schools had an attendance rate of 93.4%, compared to 93% at a national level.

Worse post-pandemic

Whilst attendance performance in the county compares positively with regional and national benchmarking, the rate remains lower than before the pandemic, when it was at 95.28%.

Illness remains the main reason given for pupils' absences - which is the case nationally as well as in Wiltshire.

The live data also showed that SEND pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan, had an overall attendance of 86.9%.

Kathryn Davies, Wiltshire Council's interim director for education and skills, said: "Although performance-wise, comparatively, we're looking strong in Wiltshire, we are not complacent, because those attendance rates are not - in the same way as they are not nationally - as high as they were pre-pandemic."