A powerful cross-party committee of MPs has issued a stark warning, declaring that the crisis of children missing from England's classrooms is 'persistent and damaging' and requires immediate government action.
The Education Committee's damning report reveals a deeply concerning situation where over 100,000 so-called 'ghost children' were missing from school for the majority of the time during the last academic year. The committee has accused the Department for Education (DfE) of a lack of urgency in tackling this escalating problem.
A Call for a 'Step-Change' in Approach
Committee chair and Conservative MP, Robin Walker, stated that the government's current strategy is insufficient. "The problem of persistent absence has been spreading and deepening since the pandemic, and it demands a step-change from government," he said.
"While the Department for Education has set out some positive steps, it needs to go further and faster to ensure that no child is left behind."
Key Findings and Recommendations
The report outlines several critical areas for improvement:
- Urgent Data Review: The DfE must conduct an urgent review of its attendance data to fully understand the scale and nature of the problem.
- Ofsted Scrutiny: School inspections should place a greater emphasis on how schools are managing attendance and supporting vulnerable pupils.
- Mental Health Support: A significant increase in mental health support teams in schools is needed to address one of the root causes of absence.
- Clearer Fines Framework: The system for issuing penalties to parents needs to be clearer and applied more consistently across local authorities.
The MPs emphasised that the issue extends beyond truancy, with factors like anxiety, mental health struggles, and special educational needs playing a major role in keeping children away from school.
The government now faces mounting pressure to respond to the committee's findings with a concrete and fully-funded plan to get England's 'ghost children' back into education and prevent a long-term national crisis.
