'Troubling' new figures reveal shocking number of students in the West Midlands were absent from school last autumn
A record level of pupils were severely absent from schools in the West Midlands in autumn last year, new figures show.
School unions have warned fining parents is a "crude tool", calling for better support for schools and families to address the root cause of pupils missing out on education.
Figures from the Department for Education show 1,005 pupils in Walsall were severely absent, meaning they missed at least half of school sessions, in the 2024-25 autumn term.
They accounted for 2.3 per cent of pupils, the highest since comparable records began in 2016-17.
Meanwhile, 21 per cent of pupils in the area were persistently absent, missing 10 per cent or more of sessions.
In Wolverhampton, 7,688 pupils were found to be persistently absent, meaning they missed 10 per cent or more school sessions, in the 2024-25 autumn term.
They accounted for 18 per cent of pupils in the area – down from 19 per cent the year before.
Meanwhile, 2 per cent of pupils in the area were severely absent, missing 50 per cent or more of sessions.
A record 979 pupils in Dudley were severely absent, accounting for 2.3 per cent of pupils in the area, while 20.8 per cent were persistently absent.
Sandwell also saw a record 1,072 pupils severely absent, making up 2 per cent of the pupils. 19.9 per cent pupils were considered persistently absent.
In Staffordshire, one in six pupils were considered persistently absent, a shocking total of 17,936 children.
Across England, the proportion of severely absent pupils in the recent autumn term also reached a record high at 2 per cent of students.
Yet, the rate of persistently absent pupils fell from 19.4 per cent in autumn 2023-24 to 17.8 per cent last year.
Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "It is troubling that, even as absence rates are coming down overall, the percentage of pupils missing at least 50 per cent of their education is rising.
"We need to focus on helping these pupils overcome the barriers preventing them from being in school on a regular basis."
General secretary at school leaders' union NAHT Paul Whiteman said the figures are a "small step in the right direction", but warned there is "a long way to go" to improve attendance.
He added: "Schools work tirelessly to ensure children are in the classroom, but they alone are not equipped to address all the deep-seated reasons for absence which can range from routine sickness to mental ill-health and social challenges facing children and families, including poverty.
"Fining parents is a crude tool which does not address many of the root causes, what is needed is better support for families and schools."
Beth Prescott, education lead at the Centre for Social Justice, said: "Five years on from school closures, classroom absences can no longer be viewed as a post-pandemic blip.
"The material risk now is that this issue is becoming deeply entrenched."
She added: "Ministers must now build on the progress they have made and work with local charities and families to provide more absent pupils with the mentorship they need to return to school.
"But with the crisis deepening we need to attack the root causes of school absence, including softening parental attitudes to attendance and an education system that fails to engage thousands of young people."
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "Getting children back in classrooms, where they belong, is non-negotiable if we are to break the unfair link between background and success so we can build a fairer country, a cornerstone of our plan for change."
A DfE spokesperson said: "We inherited a broken school system so we are taking decisive action through our plan for change to tackle the attendance crisis – and the latest data shows positive green shoots with the biggest year-on-year improvement in attendance in a decade.
"We are making huge progress with over five million more days in school this year and 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent, which research shows in time is likely to improve severe absence."
