School attendance hits record low since pre-Covid period, IPPR says

Children lost 11.5 million days of learning in the autumn term of 2023/24 due to suspensions and absences, a 67% increase from 6.8 million days in the same period before the Covid pandemic, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has revealed. New analysis from the IPPR shows that this crisis is worsening, with a 10% rise in lost learning between the autumn terms of 2022/23 and 2023/24 alone. The report sets out a plan to end this rise in absence, exclusions, and the special educational needs crisis, all key drivers of lost learning. Five years after schools first went into lockdown, the report draws on insights from over 100 teachers, leaders, students, parent groups, and charities to identify the root causes and propose urgent solutions. For every child that is permanently excluded, 10 other children experience an “invisible” move that isn’t recorded in national data, or overseen by local authorities or trusts. This includes “managed moves”, which are informal agreements between schools, as well as the illegal practice of off-rolling. One third of children who experience one of these hidden moves goes to an “unknown destination”, meaning the Department for Education has no idea where or whether they are still being schooled. The report finds that the challenges of attendance, exclusion and the current special educational needs crisis are “deeply” related and are all increasing. Exclusions are up by over a third in a single year, home education has increased by over 20% between 2022/23 and 2023/24, and there has been a 140% increase in the highest level of special educational needs support plans since 2015. The plan to address this crisis is backed by education leaders and the charities Impetus and Mission 44, who have helped develop the recommendations in consultation with the Who is Losing Learning Council. The Council included experts such as general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders Pepe Di’Iasio, Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, former education minister Edward Timpson, and children's commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza. The 10-point plan to end the crisis of lost learning includes investing £850m over five years to support half a million children, reducing lost learning and improving outcomes in a way that ultimately saves as much as it costs. It also calls for new legislation to track whenever a child is moved out of their school, ensuring transparency about where, and whether, the most vulnerable children are receiving an education. Additionally, the plan advocates for changes to school admission policies so that school intakes better reflect their local communities, giving children from disadvantaged backgrounds a fairer chance at success in education. New modelling for the report reveals that £850m of funding for mainstream school inclusion would provide half a million children with quicker support, and pay for itself by 2030 by reducing the need for 35,000 costly Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP). Efua Poku-Amanfo, research fellow at IPPR, said: “Children can’t learn if they are not in school or are in some other way lost from the classroom or unaccounted for. Since the pandemic, huge swathes of children have never returned, are being excluded or are mysteriously absent. Without urgent action to tackle lost learning, we risk failing the most disadvantaged children - those who could gain the most from an inclusive education system.” Kiran Gill, associate fellow at IPPR and founder and CEO at The Difference, added: “Our education system is failing the children who need it most. Despite school leaders’ efforts, the system works against them. The consequences — rising mental health issues, youth violence, and risks to national growth — should concern us all. “The Who is Losing Learning? Coalition is determined to change this. This report sets out a sector-backed definition of inclusion and a set of bold new reforms to end the crisis of lost learning and get children back into classrooms where they can learn and thrive. This is the new frontier in education. Without more children in front of their teachers, we cannot raise attainment, improve employment, or give more children the safe, healthy childhood they deserve. It is in everyone’s interest to find solutions to the crisis of lost learning.”