A teacher has accused Conservative politicians of using 'scare stories' to deflect blame for England's school attendance crisis, which has left more than 1.7 million pupils 'persistently absent' last autumn. Writing in The Guardian, Lola Okolosie said the focus on potential criminality among missing pupils is a 'shameful attempt' to shift responsibility from austerity measures.
Government figures show 125,000 children were 'severely absent', missing over half of school time. Disadvantaged pupils are three times more likely to be severely absent than peers, with 50% of Year 10 pupils on free school meals persistently absent. Children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children also face significantly higher absence rates.
Okolosie highlighted that since 2013, educational welfare officers have been cut by 46%, early intervention funding like Sure Start slashed by £1.7bn, and youth services lost £660m. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) are overstretched, and nearly all headteachers say Send funding is insufficient.
She argued that the crisis stems from a decade of austerity, which has left vulnerable children grappling with poverty, anxiety, depression, and family issues. 'Only the disingenuous would claim this bears no relation to the reality that it is the same pupils who are most prone to absence,' she wrote.
