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Public absence levels and exclusions

Other than illness, absence may be symptomatic of a range of issues related to school and/or home and can be an early indicator of issues.

Positively, overall pupil absence (2018/19) remains below national, but is increasing – one to monitor as a key factor present in households requiring support from children’s social care.
Pupil absence remains higher at secondary phase (5.4%) than primary (3.8%).
Cannock Chase has higher than average absence levels for both primary and secondary phase and Tamworth and Newcastle is above national for just secondary phase.

Trend in Pupil Absence 2012-19

Source: Department for Education

Overall absence levels were higher among FSM eligible pupils and children who had SEN support or an EHCP - a pattern seen nationally.
Historically absence levels have always been higher for vulnerable groups, therefore COVID will not be the only factor to impact this.

Pupil absence, 2020-21

Source: Nexus

Pupil exclusions

Permanent exclusions (2019/20) remains a key issue - higher than national for all schools and ranks poorly against similar authorities; 2nd worst for all schools.
Addressing the root cause is key. Persistent disruptive behaviour being the most common reason for exclusion, and therefore likely to be symptomatic of underlying unmet needs.
Note: Data for the 2019/20 academic year includes the start of the COVID-19 pandemic where comparisons to previous years should be treated with caution.

Percentage of permanent exclusions - all pupils

NB: Number of permanent exclusions expressed as a % of the whole school population, Department for Education

Source: Department for Education

Staffordshire continues to record a higher than average proportion of permanent exclusions among vulnerable groups, such as pupils eligible for FSM and those with SEND.
In 2019/20, 47 pupils were FSM eligible (0.31%), 35 pupils (0.29%) with SEN Support and 10 pupils with EHCPs (0.25%) were permanently excluded.

Percentage of permanent exclusions - SEND

Public Absence Levels and Exclusions4