Parents have responsibilities to make sure children in school, says Phillipson

Parents “all have responsibilities” to make sure their children are going to school, Bridget Phillipson has said, as she warned about the risk of damaging children’s life chances.

The Education Secretary said there has been a “casual kind of attitude increasingly emerging” on school attendance, and warned parents that a decision to not send a child to school impacts “the education of all children in that class”.

Speaking to reporters after her speech on Ofsted reform on Monday, Ms Phillipson said the Government is “investing more in support services” for children that are struggling, but not sending children to school “breaks” a wider societal contract.

Figures from the start of this year suggested that the number of children off during the first week of term was up on last year’s data.

Ms Phillipson said there had been a “big drop off” in attendance rates since the pandemic, and added: “Parents have responsibilities to make sure that they’re sending their children to school. Government has a responsibility to make sure that schools are providing what children need, including additional support around the school day for example.”

She went on: “I know lots of children are struggling with their mental health at the moment, that’s why we are investing more in support services for children who are struggling.

“But we all have responsibilities as parents to send our children to school because when we don’t do that it damages our children’s life chances but also […] it breaks that contract that we have as parents with our children’s school and with wider society and I know for some parents that isn’t easy and for those parents who are struggling we will put in place the support that’s needed.

“But it’s not OK to say ‘it’s only a Friday, you don’t need to go to school today’. Every day at school does matter and parents have responsibilities too.”

In a question and answer session after her speech at the Centre for Social Justice, the Education Secretary also said there has been “sadly a casual kind of attitude increasingly emerging” on the topic.

Figures released in January indicated that the number of pupils in England off school without permission at the start of this term is up compared with the same time last year.

Data from the Department for Education (DfE) showed that the unauthorised absence rate across state schools in England was 2.7% in the week ending January 10 – the first week of term following the Christmas holidays.

This was higher than the equivalent week in 2024 – the week ending January 12 – when the rate was 2.5%, according to the DfE.

Figures from October also indicated that the number of pupils absent for prolonged periods of time had risen. Data from the department indicated that 2.1% of pupils were “severely absent” in the autumn and spring terms of 2023/24 in England, compared with 1.9% in the same terms in 2022/23.

Around 158,000 pupils were severely absent over the autumn and spring terms of 2023/24, compared with 139,000 over the same period in 2022/23.