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Parental disengagement hampering efforts to reduce unauthorised and persistent absence

Attendance Pastoral issues Pupil wellbeing Safeguarding Parental engagement
Parent disengagement with education is driving a “significant increase” in unauthorised pupil absence, which in turn is adding notably to teachers’ workload.
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Research published by the NASUWT and involving 1,079 teachers finds that 94% report increased unauthorised absences since 2020, with two-thirds stating that the increases are “significant”.

On average, the teachers in the study, which was carried out during October 2024, say that 15% of the pupils they teach are now persistently absent from lessons – which means they are missing 10% of sessions or more.

Attendance data from the Department for Education shows that so far this academic year (up until November 8) the rate of unauthorised absence is 2% – 1.4% in primary schools and 2.7% in secondaries (DfE, 2024a). This compares with 2.2% during the spring 2024 and autumn 2023 terms (DfE, 2024b).

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