London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Almost a quarter of England's pupils out of school

Almost a quarter of England's pupils out of school

Almost a quarter (23.3%) of pupils in England were out of school last week, the latest official attendance figures show.

This means there were 1.7 million pupils absent, up from 1.5 million the week before.

The latest figures include over a million off for Covid-related reasons, but only 47,000 actually had Covid.

In secondary schools, the absence rate was nearer a third (32.7%) of pupils, while in primaries it was 17%.

Some 661,500 pupils out of the total were absent from school for unspecified non-Covid related reasons.

These figures show a snapshot of the situation in state schools last Thursday - before changes introduced from 19 July, which are intended to reduce the numbers having to be sent home.

There has been speculation that many families may have chosen to take their children out of school early so isolation rules do not interfere with holiday plans.

'Begrudgingly isolating'


While others, including some teaching unions, have highlighted the impact of the pandemic on pupil engagement and mental health.

Elaine Blowers and her family in Hampshire are among many hundreds of thousands of families affected by having to self isolate.

She says each time it happens, the mental health of her daughter Gracie and son Harley is affected.

Mrs Blowers, a mum of two young, primary-aged children in Andover told how her son and daughter had to isolate due to one person in their class testing positive. Both children took a PCR test and were Covid-negative.

Her son, Harley, has special needs and has missed out on the additional help he gets in school and has not really got on well with home-learning. And sAhe explained how her daughter, Gracie, experiences anxiety every time she has to isolate - developing nightmares and stomach pains.

"What is frustrating is that it is not the first time this has happened," she says.

"Every time we have always been negative and felt very frustrated that my children have had to be locked up and I've had to lose an income unnecessarily."

Elaine runs her own business as a childminder working from home, so every time her children need to isolate, it impacts her business.


She said the current situation was tricky for parents.

"I know some parents have approached schools to keep children off so not to affect holidays. But other parents are still choosing to keep children in school.

"We've stuck to the rules but begrudgingly."

Elaine says both her children have really suffered by not being in school, but she does not blame the school which she says has been "fantastic" in offering support.

"The prime minister needs to get a grip and allow for people that are contacted to get a PCR test and if negative return to work or school. This needs to change now - 16 August is too late," she says, referring to the date when Covid self-isolation rules are expected to change.

"It is having such a negative impact on businesses and people's, including children's, mental health."

'Grim end'


A Department for Education (DfE) spokesman said: "Our priority is for schools and colleges to deliver face-to-face, high quality education to all pupils as we know that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health.


"Where children have needed to isolate, they must be offered immediate access to high-quality remote education."

He added that the DfE had now removed its system of grouping pupils in "bubbles" to restrict transmission, and that self-isolation would not be required next term for pupils coming into contact with positive cases.

The National Association of Head Teachers' general secretary Paul Whiteman said the government's decision to end "bubbles" and school isolation requirements was intended to stop so many missing school.

But he warned that rising case numbers would mean more disruption, unless there was action to prevent transmission in schools.

"The government's own modelling predicts that the number of cases among children and young people is only going to get worse by the start of next term," he added.

Recovery effort


Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the latest figures "bring a year of unprecedented educational disruption to a grim end".

He said schools and colleges needed substantial financial and practical support for on-site testing for students and ventilation systems

"This work cannot be done on the cheap and the government needs to stop counting the pennies and address the situation with a proper injection of support and funding," he added.

Natalie Perera, chief executive of the Education Policy Institute said the stark figures on pupil absence underline the importance of education recovery programmes.

"Supporting pupils through this crisis has to be a number one priority for the government," she said. "We need to see far more ambitious and better-targeted education recovery policies which address the scale of this challenge."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×