Poor housing a growing barrier to school attendance in England, charity reveals

One in five of the pupils the charity works with say where they live is a major barrier to their attending school. Photograph: Martin Argles/The Guardian

Insecure, unsuitable and poor-quality housing is increasingly a barrier to children going to school, according to an education charity that works with persistently absent pupils and their families to improve school attendance in England.

School-Home Support (SHS), which tries to address the root causes of high absence rates through whole-family support, says 19% of the pupils it works with cite where they live as a major barrier to school attendance.