Pupil absences increase in Walsall with percentage 'slightly above national average'

A report going to the education overview and scrutiny committee showed Walsall’s overall absence rate for 2021/22 to be at 7.9 per cent – slightly above the national average of 7.6 per cent and the West Midlands’ 7.8 per cent.

Officers said this also represents a 2.5 per cent increase on the borough’s overall absence rate from the previous year.

This puts Walsall as the second highest in the Black Country behind Dudley, which record eight per cent overall absence and ahead of Sandwell which has 7.4 and Wolverhampton’s seven.

And, of Walsall’s 7.9 per cent overall absence, three per cent of those were classed as ‘unauthorised’.

The report, which will be discussed by committee members on Tuesday, September 5, said there is a range of support to improve attendance in schools.

These include sharing data and using lessons learned at other schools, a self assessment tool to identify strengths and weaknesses, a working group of head teachers who meet half termly and access to Early Help Support in Walsall.

The report said: “It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.

“Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly.

“This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.

“Where all voluntary support options are unsuccessful or are not appropriate, the local authority’s school Attendance Support Team will liaise with the school and the early help lead practitioner or social worker (where applicable) to take forward attendance legal intervention and to formalise support and/or enforce attendance.”