New pupil attendance figures for the 2023/24 autumn term, show a school absence rate of 6.8% (4.6% authorised, 2/2% unauthorised) and a persistent absence rate of 20.1%. These are down from the absence rate of 7.5% in the 2022/23 autumn term, when persistent absence was 24.2% - but still too high according to school leaders' union NAHT.

Paul Whiteman, NAHT's general secretary, said: “Schools have been working incredibly hard to increase attendance and it is encouraging to see that work has been paying off, with these figures an improvement on the previous autumn term.

“However, levels of pupil absence, including persistent absence, remain a concern, and are still considerably higher than they were pre-pandemic. There are many reasons for this, ranging from illness to mental health problems, poverty and challenges facing children and their families, and schools cannot solve all these problems alone.

“While the government has announced measures aimed at tackling the issue, like an expansion of attendance hubs, it needs to go further and faster and be far more ambitious.

“That means re-investing in teams which work directly with children who frequently miss school and their families, particularly specialist support like education welfare officers which have been decimated over the last decade.

"We need to see much more government investment in these services, as well as children’s social care, early help, and mental health services which have also suffered from chronic underfunding.”