Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of school days lost due to protests on climate change (a) in Newcastle upon Tyne and (b) nationally.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Recording school absence is a matter for schools. Advice on recording absence is included in the school attendance guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance.

The Department does not condone pupils missing out on education as a consequence of the recent protests on climate change.

The issue of climate change is important, but missing school is not the solution. Absence causes disruption for other pupils and teachers, as schools seek to ensure that absent pupils catch up with work that has been missed.