Today, Thursday 2 January, the Press Association published an analysis of the Department for Education’s pupil absence statistics for the Autumn and Spring terms of the 2018-19 academic year. The Press Association analysis claimed that almost one in 10 children in England miss lessons to go on holidays. This was covered by the Mail, the Telegraph, the Times, the Guardian, the Sun, the Mirror and the Metro.
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
During term times, the best place for children to be is in school. Evidence shows that pupils with higher overall absence tend to do less well in their GCSEs, which has a lasting effect on their life chances.
The rules on term-time absences are clear: no child should be taken out of school without good reason. We have put head teachers back in control by supporting them – and local authorities – to use their powers to deal with unauthorised absence.
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