Commenting on research by the Education Policy Institute on pupil absence rates and the attainment gap, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:
 
“High levels of persistent absence are one of the biggest challenges facing teachers and one of the biggest threats to the quality of education and children’s future life chances. As this research underlines, absence remains a bigger challenge among the pupils who most benefit from being in school – pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special needs.
 
“But schools cannot deal with the problem of persistent absence alone.

“Whilst we welcome the Government’s commitment to expand the attendance mentor programme and to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every secondary school, we also need to see extra investment in services beyond the school gates to deliver the support that some families need to help them reconnect with regular school attendance for their children.

“The problems with the system of special needs education are undoubtedly contributing to absence levels and the government’s plans to reform the SEN system must support the drive to tackle persistent absence and rebuild the confidence of families in the education system.
 
“The Government must make it a national mission to tackle absence from school and to make regular school attendance the norm, not the exception, for all children and young people.”