Unauthorised school absence widening ‘disadvantage gap’ in England

Unauthorised absence contributes more to the GCSE gap than authorised absence, the EPI said. Photograph: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

Unauthorised school absence is a leading cause of the widening performance gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in England, according to analysis from a respected thinktank.

The research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) found that all of the increase in the “disadvantage gap” among 16-year-olds since 2019 can be explained by students on free school meals (FSM) missing more time off school than other pupils, putting them several months behind in terms of their results.