Threatening parents with “punitive” fines when their child misses school is not reducing absences, the former children’s commissioner for England has said.
Anne Longfield said developing a “more inclusive” school environment could help tackle the attendance crisis rather than a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
Headteachers said strategies used to tackle pupil absence prior to the pandemic are no longer as effective as they were, according to the report from the Centre for Young Lives think tank and the Child of the North initiative.
The threat of fines can be “a trigger for a breakdown” in relationships between schools and parents, it said.
Investing early in supporting children at risk of disengagement from education is the best way of preventing problems further down the line and no child should ever think that school isn't for them
The paper highlights alternative programmes for tackling attendance issues – including a telepresence robot which sits in an absent child’s seat in class and allows them to access a lesson live at home.
Early data from a pilot project with schools in Wirral, Merseyside, which used the AV1 telepresence robots suggest they helped boost attendance and increase the number of hours that pupils engaged with learning.
Ms Longfield, executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said: “The reasons why children miss school are often complex and there is no silver bullet.
“However, the one-size-fits-all and often punitive approach that previous Governments have taken to tackle absence needs to be consigned to the past.
“Simply, threatening parents with fines is not working for many families and not reducing severe absence rates.”
The warning comes as parents in England face higher fines if they take their children out of class without permission this year as part of a Government drive to boost attendance since the Covid-19 pandemic.
School absence fines have increased from £60 to £80 under the changes, and a parent who receives a second fine for the same child within a three-year period will automatically receive a £160 fine.
Other actions, such as a parenting order or prosecution, will be considered if a parent exceeds two fines per child within a three-year period, and those who are prosecuted could receive a fine of up to £2,500.
The report calls on the Government to focus its school absence strategy on earlier identification and intervention with children most at risk of absence.
It comes after figures last week suggested that the number of pupils in England missing at least half of possible school sessions has continued to rise.
About 158,000 pupils were “severely absent” over the autumn and spring terms of 2023-24, compared to 139,000 over the same period in 2022-23, according to data from the Department for Education (DfE).
I am struck not just by the simple enormity of how many children are not in school, but the clear evidence of how unfair this is
The report, which looked at different ways to improve school attendance, suggested that rates of unauthorised absence were 34% higher in the North of England than in the South.
Persistent non-attendance rates were 20.7% in the 2023-24 academic year, increasing to 37% for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and 35.7% for those receiving free school meals, the paper said.
Ms Longfield added: “The crucial message this report puts forward is the need to intervene early and to build a sense of belonging and inclusion in schools.
“Investing early in supporting children at risk of disengagement from education is the best way of preventing problems further down the line and no child should ever think that school isn’t for them.”
Camilla Kingdon, former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “I find the data presented in this report terrifying. I am struck not just by the simple enormity of how many children are not in school, but the clear evidence of how unfair this is.
“Why should a child who lives in the North of England be at significantly higher risk of disengaging with the education system?
“How can it be that a child on free school meals is so much more likely to persistently miss school? Why are young carers finding it so difficult to engage with full-time education?
“Each of these groups represents part of our future and we cannot let them down in the ways described in this report.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “There is clearly a significant group of pupils finding it difficult to attend school with any kind of regularity and we have to be able to find a way of helping them before this situation transpires.
“It cannot be left to schools alone to provide support for children who will be experiencing a range of issues.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “To break down the barriers to opportunity across the country we must tackle the national epidemic of school absence, which remains stubbornly high after years of soaring rates of persistent absence. Successfully treating the root causes of absence requires schools and local partners to work collaboratively in partnership with families.
“To support this drive, we are introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, an attendance mentoring programme, and ensuring earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with special needs.”
