Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of living in poverty on the school attendance record of students.

The information requested is not held centrally. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of living in poverty on the school attendance record of students.

Absence data by income deprivation affecting children index and free school meal eligibility is available in the National Statistics release “Pupil absence in schools in England 2017 to 2018”: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-2017-to-2018.

All children of compulsory school age, regardless of their circumstances, are entitled to a full-time education which is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have.

Schools should continually monitor pupils’ absence. If a child’s absence reaches a level of concern, the school will wish to raise this with the parents and the local authority in the best interest of the child’s education. Schools have a duty to inform the local authority of any child who fails to attend school regularly. School and local authorities should consider the individual circumstances of each case and take the appropriate course of action to ensure the child receives consistent education.