Responding to research from Parentkind which found an overwhelmingly majority of parents believe children should attend school every day - and mixed views on fines for absence, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“Schools are continuing to work incredibly hard to increase attendance, but these figures show that many of the causes of absence are complex, including school refusal for mental health reasons.

“The last government failed to invest anything like enough in support for families facing challenges in their lives, including poverty and mental health. Measures announced in this government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, such as free breakfast clubs and a register of children not in school, will help – but we also need the government to reinvest in crucial services which support families and schools and have faced huge cuts under previous administrations.

“NAHT has long argued that fining parents is a blunt tool which does not get to the root causes of non-attendance. As this poll shows, fines are controversial – and increasing absence figures over the last decade seem to indicate that fines are failing to shift the dial in any meaningful way.

“Fresh investment in services like social care, mental health and special education needs, and roles like education welfare officers, allied with tangible action to address the causes of poverty, would help make a real difference to children’s attendance at school.”