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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Richard Adams Education editor

School absence a big factor in child mental illness in England, data shows

Teenage boy in yellow hooded sweater, using his cell phone leaning against a fence in a London park.
The study showed five in 100 children who had a 30% school absence record attended hospital for mental ill health. Photograph: Manuel Arias Duran/Getty Images

School absences “significantly contribute” to children’s mental ill health, according to research backed by the Office for National Statistics that shows the risks increase the longer a child is absent.

“Our research shows that the more times a child is absent from school, the greater the probability that they will experience mental ill health,” the authors, from Loughborough University and the ONS, concluded.

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