Ten thousand children absent from Oldham's schools

Thousands of Oldham children were ‘persistently absent’ from school during the 2022/23 school year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal.

During the academic year, 77,654  pupils of primary and secondary school age across Greater Manchester did not turn up for class – and that figure does not include Tameside – which says its figures are not yet available – or Stockport, which is yet to respond to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The definition of persistent absence from school is categorised as attendance  less than 90 per cent.

We asked all 10 Greater Manchester authorities about their absence data.

School attendance figures are supplied to the Government’s Department for Education on a voluntary basis by schools, which means absence figures can only be estimated.

The number of presently absent pupils in Oldham was 10,100, out of 43,830.)

Cllr Mohon Ali, cabinet member for education and skills, said: “We are committed to improving educational and skills levels across our borough. 

“School attendance has a huge effect on children’s learning, their social lives and achievement and as we strive to improve educational standards, we know persistent absence can undermine all of these things. 

“We’re working with all schools and academies in Oldham every week to monitor their attendances, and this is helping us to target the work of our attendance and family help teams, so schools and families can receive the support they need to ensure their children are being educated.”

Think tank the Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY) has responded to the figures.

A spokesperson said: “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is still casting a long shadow over schools and their pupils, and this is reflected in sustained higher absence rates since 2018/19. 

“We know that children and young people’s mental health has been in decline over the last decade, and the pandemic has both aggravated this trend and placed further pressure on the support that both education and health services can offer.

“Meanwhile, we know many families are struggling with the pressures of the cost of living crisis, which may have an impact in terms of being able to afford school uniforms or travel for some pupils. In the worst cases, some families have lost their homes, leaving them to grapple with more significant issues than making it to school.”