MPs call for more action to boost school attendance rates
It comes just 10 days after a national campaign was launched by the Government.
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Your support makes all the difference.A “shift in parental attitudes” surrounding minor illness has led to more children being off school after the Covid-19 pandemic, MPs have said.
The Education and Health Select Committees have called for more work to be done to “help pupils and parents make more informed decisions about attending school with a minor illness”.
Earlier this month the Department for Education (DfE) launched a “major national drive” to improve school attendance.
The DfE launched the national campaign – Moments Matter, Attendance Counts – to highlight the importance of attendance to parents and carers, alongside other initiatives to drive up attendance and tackle persistent absence.
But just 10 days after the campaign was launched, MPs have called for more to be done.
The chairmen of the Commons’ committees have penned a joint letter to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and Health Secretary Victoria Atkins calling for a school attendance and self-care public health information campaign.
The school day and curriculum is incredibly tightly packed, and pupils can easily miss out on crucial steps in their learning if they miss lessons
“Illness related (school) absences remain significantly higher than pre-Covid owing to the shift in parental attitudes surrounding sending their children to school with minor illnesses,” Robin Walker, chair of the Education Committee, and Steve Brine, chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, wrote.
As well as helping parents and carers understand when their children should attend school with a minor illness, the campaign should also help them understand “about appropriate situations in which to seek care from a GP”, the letter adds.
They point out that there is “high demand” on GP services and that challenges in the system “can be exacerbated if parents do not have an understanding of when it is appropriate to contact their GP regarding their child’s illness, and when to administer self-care”.
And a national campaign could “advise parents on when it is appropriate for children to attend school despite a minor illness, when it is best to administer self-care, and when to seek NHS services,” they said, adding: “Would you both be willing to endorse a joint public information campaign between the DHSC (Department for Health and Social Care) and DfE to help tackle both challenges simultaneously?”
James Bowen, assistant general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “It is vital that children have good attendance at school, and they should only miss days when there are very good reasons for doing so.
“The school day and curriculum is incredibly tightly packed, and pupils can easily miss out on crucial steps in their learning if they miss lessons. Whilst teachers can try to catch pupils up on lost learning, that can be a challenge if the rest of the class have moved on.
“Clearly, if a child is not well enough to attend school, they shouldn’t, and we do still need to be careful about pupils not attending and passing on illnesses such as stomach bugs.
“Most schools have guidance about when to keep a child at home due to illness and how long for. Failing that, the NHS has helpful advice online and it will clearly depend on the nature of the illness.”
The DfE and the DHSC have been approached for comment.