How worried should we be about unauthorised school absences?

Truancy can lead to knife crime, a minister has suggested. Eleanor Busby explores whether a record number of unauthorised school absences needs urgent attention

Determining the reasons for persistent absence is complex (PA)

Efforts to reduce the number of pupils who are persistently absent from school have stalled, leaving children who are out of class most at risk of criminal exploitation, the education secretary has warned.

Damian Hinds’ comments came ahead of new Department for Education (DfE) figures, which revealed that unauthorised pupil absence rates in England are at their highest since records began.

Of course, being off school for lengthy periods can be damaging to a pupil’s learning. And for some children, repeatedly missing class can be a safeguarding risk if they are left to roam the street.