It is not acceptable for parents to take children out of school for cheaper holidays or birthday treats, the shadow education secretary warned as she unveiled plans to tackle the truancy crisis.
Bridget Phillipson said parents have a responsibility to keep their children in school, and allowing children to skip class without a good reason is a mark of disrespect.
Speaking as she unveiled Labour’s plan to tackle the school absence crisis that has taken hold since the pandemic, she urged parents to ensure their children go to school every day “not from fear, but from love…because it’s best for the children we love.”
In a speech at the Centre for Social Justice in Westminster Ms Phillipson said Labour will introduce a national register of children not in school and introduce extra speech and language interventions for young children, dedicated mental health counsellors in every secondary school and universal free breakfast clubs forevery primary pupil in England.
The plan was backed by Sir Kevan Collins, the government’s former education Covid catch-up chief who resigned in protest over the government’s scaled down education recovery plan.
Ms Phillipson said: “Parents have responsibilities. One of thethings we do as parents that has the biggest impact on our children is making sure they go to school. Not some days, or most days, but every day.”
She added: “Let me be absolutely clear. Cheaper holidays, birthday treats, not fancying it today, these are no excuses for missing school.
“Penalties must be part of the system, but they cannot be the answer alone. Allowing your child to skip school without good reason shouldn’t just be cause for a fine. It’s deeper. It’s a mark of disrespect. For the children, the teachers, the school. Because absences hurt not just the children missing, but the children there. They strike at the rhythm of teaching and learning, for other children as well as your own.”
She criticised the government’s handling of the pandemic, saying when most schools first reopened, pubs had already been open for weeks. She said if a national crisis comes again “schools should be last to close and first to open.”
Sir Kevan, who introduced Ms Phillipson’s speech, said: “Too many of our children are still living with the impact of the disruption. The failure to re-engage and return to established norms is seen in the collapse in school attendance. For too many children the habit and convention of going to school every day has been broken.”
It comes after the government launched its own drive to improve school attendance. The Department for Education named nine London schools as “attendance hubs” – they have excellent attendance records and will share their expertise with others in the capital that are struggling.
Nationally 18 new attendance hubs were announced – meaning half of them are in London.
The government will also expand a mentoring programme which sees trained “attendance mentors” working directly with the families of pupils who are not turning up to school, to find out why they are skipping classes.
It came after a poll conducted for the Centre for Social Justice suggested that almost three in 10 parents believe it is not essentialfor children to attend school every day.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: "Labour is right to prioritise tackling this issue. There is no doubt that data on attendance remains a real concern and too many pupils arestill not attending school on a regular or frequent enough basis.
"Over the last decade, a combination of austerity and neglect has led to the disappearance of many of the crucial local attendance services that schools used to rely on. It is also clear that growing levels of poverty have exacerbated the issue.
"Should Labour win the next election, then this really should be a high priority."
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "Current absence rates are alarming with twice as many children persistently absent compared to the ratefrom before the pandemic. If children are not in school, they cannot learn. It is as simple as that.
"The reasons for persistent absence are varied and complex. Labour's plans for early language interventions, increased mental health support and universal free breakfast clubs are welcome.
"We would also like to see greater investment in the wider infrastructure of family and children's support services that have been eroded over the past 14 years. Schools cannot fight this battle on their own."
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Putting children’s wellbeing at the heart of education means notjust greater opportunity for the arts and sport but an end to the exam factory culture. It means lifting the pressure imposed on teachers by a punitive inspection system.”
He added: “Attending to the material needs of children requires reform of the benefits system, and a guarantee of free school meals for all, as well as the welcome introduction of free breakfast clubs. This academic year, every primary school in London has benefitted from the successful roll out of Free School Meals to all pupils up to Year 6, which has proved beyond doubt the hugely positive impact universal FSM provision has on pupils, parents and their wider community.”
