Not all children in England will return to school as the new term starts.
Around 93,000 pupils have simply vanished and fallen off school registers since the COVID pandemic began.
These are England’s so-called “ghost children”, a phrase coined by chair of the education select committee Robert Halfon, who says he has been pushing for the government to take action for two years now.
“How we can allow as a country (nearly) 100,000 children to vanish off the school rolls completely and not treat it as a priority is beyond me,” he said.
In addition, last year more than 100,000 children missed at least 50% of the autumn term – and there are concerns there will be even more this year.
School helps families with food, healthcare and advice
Currently over 1,000 schools in disadvantaged areas have an entire class-worth of children missing.
The OASIS Academy secondary school on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent has a persistently absent rate of 54% – meaning over half of the pupils there miss at least 10% of school.
The secondary school has set up a community support service on a double decker bus.
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The aim is to help struggling families with food, healthcare and advice – and attempt to reconnect their children with an education system many have dropped out of.
According to latest Digital NHS statistic, a record number of more than 400,000 children a month are being treated for mental health problems, and more are struggling to be diagnosed.
Worryingly, tens of thousands of children are missing from classrooms altogether.
Stefan Phillips says his son has been unable to attend a school for two years due to crippling anxiety brought on by the pandemic. He says it’s been heartbreaking to watch as a father and he hasn’t been given enough help to support his son into returning.
“COVID hit two years ago, being locked in his bedroom, now he won’t go anywhere. His anxiety is through the roof, he won’t leave the house.
“He’s got no exams, no qualifications. Nothing.”
Children not at school are ‘at risk of being exploited’
Anne Longfield chairs the Commission on Young Lives – an independent commission that looks to prevent crises in vulnerable young people.
The former children’s commissioner is concerned that the number of children not attending school will put young people at risk of serious violence and exploitation. She warns there is an “avalanche of inequalities” worsened by the cost-of-living crisis and the pandemic that is putting children at higher risk.
“I’m deeply concerned about these children.
“Those adults seeking to target vulnerable children with gang activities, possibly county lines and drugs, will relish the prospect of them not being at school. It’s at that point they start to establish relationships and draw them away from school.”
While not all children who are persistently absent are being exploited, Ms Longfield warns that missing school heightens the risk.
Government says improving attendance is a ‘priority’
Will Quince, the school standards minister, says he disagrees with the term “ghost children”, but admits work needs to be done.
“There has been a drop post-pandemic, and we have got to do all we possibly can to get those kids back into school.”
The Department for Education says finding these children and improving attendance is a priority for them. According to them, there will be a “renewed focus on maximising pupils’ time in the classroom”.
“Powerful new attendance data visualisation tools are launching to help schools, trusts, local authorities and the government to spot and respond to issues.”
Education Secretary James Cleverly believes fines should be used for persistent absence but says the government is trialling new ways to improve attendance.
“The big lesson we’ve all taken from the pandemic year is how important attendance is.
“That’s why we have got a programme we’re trialling with one-to-one attendance mentoring in Middlesbrough.”
But even the education secretary admits he “would like a better idea of which students are in school”.
“Understanding where children are will help all of us. The best thing we can do for them is provide excellent education.
“But it is not an easy data set to create.”
Other potential solutions, put forward by school’s commissioner Rachel de Souza, include “unique identifiers” for pupils or better use of existing NHS numbers to enable councils to track pupils.
Local authorities were criticised in the school’s commissioner’s latest report for being unable to accurately find these children.
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But Steve Chalke, the founder of Oasis Charity Trust, says investment is needed in order to get children back into school.
He believes that the term “ghost children” needs to be expanded to “ghost families” and that while community outreach is key, only funding can allow that to happen.
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Mr Chalke said: “Schools can’t be left to make up all of this on their own. Schools do a fantastic job, but they can’t be left to make up for the whole deficit on a limited budget. It just doesn’t work.
“The cost of living crisis means fuel bills are sending school expenditure through the roof anyway and more are getting into deficit.
“How do you expect schools on their own to make up for the lack of economic investment in our poorest communities?
“It’s not fair, it’s not right we have to invest now, or we will inherit a whirlwind of ghost children and ghost families.”
For MPs, it’s back to school next week and a new prime minister too.
Whether Mr Cleverly keeps his role as education secretary or not – the speed at which the ghost pupils are brought back to the classroom will be a key test for the government.
