House of Commons · Bill Debate
02 February 2024 · 7 other contributors
Opened by Vicky Ford Con Chelmsford
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Vicky Ford raised concerns about school attendance (support and guidance) bill - clause 1 & clause 2 in the House of Commons. Other MPs contributed to the debate.
Key points
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
Moves the bill to ensure all schools, trusts, local authorities follow best practice guidance on school attendance. It makes it mandatory for bodies to adhere to the detailed guidance published by the Department for Education, aiming to reduce absenteeism and improve educational outcomes.
Acknowledges Vicky Ford's insightful analysis on the impact of non-attendance even for a short part of the school year and seeks to draw attention to this issue among headteachers.
Supports the Bill to encourage school attendance, especially in the context of post-pandemic effects. Argues that compulsory absence from school can lead to socialisation issues and poor mental health among children. Recommends introducing an absence code for mental health and highlights the importance of publishing schools' attendance policies to improve performance.
Congratulates Vicky Ford on bringing forward the Bill and highlights the importance of school attendance for children's learning, safety, and access to extracurricular activities. Cites data showing that 21% of all children were persistently absent in spring 2023, affecting their academic performance and mental health. Supports measures like one-to-one mentoring schemes but calls for a more substantial response to reach severely absent pupils.
Congratulates the introduction of the Bill, emphasising its importance in promoting regular school attendance. Supports making recommendations statutory to ensure consistency across local authorities and schools. Acknowledges concerns about cost implications but supports additional funding from the Government. Highlights the need for a named point of contact in each local authority to support schools with queries and advice. Emphasises the necessity of addressing socioeconomic factors affecting attendance. Commends efforts by teachers and educational staff, noting that schools should not face unnecessary burdens or be downgraded if they do not achieve perfect attendance rates.
Supports the Bill but criticises it as a limited first step. Points out stark figures on persistent and half-day absences, highlighting the Labour party's comprehensive plan to address these issues including free breakfast clubs, mental health support, curriculum reform, early language interventions, and a 'children not in school' register. Questions the effectiveness of the Government’s current approach and calls for more substantial action.
Damian Hinds congratulated Vicky Ford on her initiative and expressed support for the Bill, which aims to improve school attendance by requiring schools to have and publicise a school attendance policy and introducing a new duty on local authorities to seek to improve attendance. He highlighted that the Government is exploring ways to make attendance guidance statutory, aiming to achieve pre-pandemic attendance levels of 95% or above. Hinds provided statistics showing improvements in attendance since September 2022, including a reduction of 380,000 pupils being persistently absent and an increase in overall attendance from 92.5% to 93.2%. He also outlined various Government initiatives aimed at improving school attendance.
While Nigel Evans did not provide detailed arguments, he congratulated Vicky Ford on her speech.