Persistent absence from schools in Swindon, which were already running higher than the national average took a leap in the last academic year.

A report which has been prepared for Swindon Borough Council’s children’s services overview and scrutiny meeting which has been postponed from Wednesday evening, which shows a five per cent leap in persistent absences from secondary schools in the borough.

The report says that the percentage of absences which can be classified as persistent was running just above the England national average before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2017/19 it was 15.1 per cent compared to 13.9 per cent, in 2018/19 Swindon’s figure had dropped to 14.2 per cent while the national figure was lower, but not by much, as 13.7 per cent.

In the academic year of 2019/20, which was so badly affected by lockdowns from March until nearly the end of the school year, persistent absences which reached 14.9 per cent in Swindon were less than the 15 per cent national figure.

But Swindon’s figure leaped by more than four points in the autumn term of 2020/21 to 19.3 per cent, fully three points higher than the national average of 16.3 per cent.

The report says attendance is a matter of concern: “Following an audit on school attendance, the Schools Inclusion Forum and SIF executive agreed the need to have a years’ focus on attendance.

“This includes a partnership commitment to improving attendance, reducing persistent and severe absence, reducing suspensions and exclusions and to keeping children safe.

“The campaign will cover monthly messaging to support the importance of regular attendance.

"Themes will include returning to school, the importance of attendance upon achievement, legal responsibilities, mental health, the risk of child and criminal exploitation, transition, attendance for the world of work and celebrating the efforts of the children and young people of Swindon.

“An attendance award event will be held later in 2023 year.”

Ordinary absences from Swindon secondary schools have also jumped. In 2018/19 they were at 5.6 per cent, just one hundredth above the national average of 5.5 per cent.

In the autumn term of the last academic year, the Swindon figure had jumped to 6.2 per cent, half a point above the national figure.

The picture is rather better in the borough’s primary schools.

The absence figure and the persistent absence figure have been consistently below the national average.

No rescheduled date has yet been set for the committee meeting.