Pandemic wreaks havoc on education as a fifth of Tower Hamlets pupils miss at least 10% of lessons

A fifth of pupils in Tower Hamlets state schools missed at least 10% of their lessons last year, new figures show, as the coronavirus pandemic caused havoc for many children's education.
File photo dated 05/03/2017 of a primary school teacher marking a pupil's maths homework. Children in the "best-off" homes were more likely to report having had private tutoring than their peers in the "worst-off" homes (35% compared with 21%), according to the Sutton Trust report. A survey of 2,394 schoolchildren aged 11 to 16 in England and Wales found that 30% said they have had private tuition, up from 27% pre-pandemic. The proportion is the joint highest figure since the survey began in 2005, when it stood at 18%. Issue date: Thursday March 9, 2023.File photo dated 05/03/2017 of a primary school teacher marking a pupil's maths homework. Children in the "best-off" homes were more likely to report having had private tutoring than their peers in the "worst-off" homes (35% compared with 21%), according to the Sutton Trust report. A survey of 2,394 schoolchildren aged 11 to 16 in England and Wales found that 30% said they have had private tuition, up from 27% pre-pandemic. The proportion is the joint highest figure since the survey began in 2005, when it stood at 18%. Issue date: Thursday March 9, 2023.
File photo dated 05/03/2017 of a primary school teacher marking a pupil's maths homework. Children in the "best-off" homes were more likely to report having had private tutoring than their peers in the "worst-off" homes (35% compared with 21%), according to the Sutton Trust report. A survey of 2,394 schoolchildren aged 11 to 16 in England and Wales found that 30% said they have had private tuition, up from 27% pre-pandemic. The proportion is the joint highest figure since the survey began in 2005, when it stood at 18%. Issue date: Thursday March 9, 2023.

A fifth of pupils in Tower Hamlets state schools missed at least 10% of their lessons last year, new figures show, as the coronavirus pandemic caused havoc for many children's education.

The Association of School and College Leaders said schools work very hard to improve attendances but have received little support from local authorities due to government cuts.

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It called on the Government to publish a "nationwide attendance strategy" to support struggling families and schools.

Department for Education figures show 6,703 out of 37,148 total pupils in Tower Hamlets missed at least 10% of lesson time in the 2021-22 academic year.

It meant 18% of pupils were persistently absent – significantly up from 10.3% the year before and 9.7% in 2018-19, the last full academic year before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the overall absence rate in Tower Hamlets schools rose from 4.3% to 6.2%.

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Across England, 1.6 million pupils were persistently absent, more than double the 800,000 who missed at least 10% of their lessons in 2018-19.

The persistent absent rate sat between 10 and 12% in recent years but jumped to 22.5% in the last academic year.

The coronavirus pandemic was the primary reason for the significant rise in pupil absences.

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the ASCL, said that while absence rates were affected by the pandemic, "attendance continues to be extremely challenging".

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This is due to "escalating rates of poor mental health, poverty, and abuse and neglect, which are compounded by an erosion in the provision of local support services over the past decade," she said.

Ms McCulloch added: "Schools work very hard to encourage good attendance but have little support as local authority attendance services have also reduced as a result of government cuts. We need a nationwide attendance strategy which supports struggling families and schools."

The figures also show 120,000 pupils missed at least 50% of their lessons in England last year – up from 80,000 the year before and 60,000 in 2018-19.

In Tower Hamlets, 250 pupils (0.7%) were severely absent throughout the academic year – up from 206 in 2020-21.

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Ellie Mulcahy, director of research at think tank The Centre for Education and Youth, said the rise in pupil absence is "disturbing".

"We know that just a few days off school can have a serious impact on young people's later attainment," Ms Mulcahy added.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "The vast majority of children are in school and learning.

"We work closely with schools, trusts, governing bodies, and local authorities to identify pupils who are at risk of becoming, or who are persistently absent and working together to support those children to return to regular and consistent education."