Parents have responsibilities to make sure children in school, says Phillipson

Figures from the start of this year suggested that the number of children off during the first week of term was up on last year’s data (Danny Lawson/PA) - (PA Archive)

Parents “all have responsibilities” to make sure their children are going to school, Bridget Phillipson has said, as she warned about the risk of damaging children’s life chances.

The Education Secretary said there has been a “casual kind of attitude increasingly emerging” on school attendance, and warned parents that a decision to not send a child to school impacts “the education of all children in that class”.