January 13, 2023 6.00 pm This story is over 24 months old

Hundreds of Lincolnshire children missing weeks of school

Absence rates above the national average

Hundreds of Lincolnshire children are missing school regularly, mainly due to parents taking them on holidays during term time.

Some 829 children were reported as having missed ten consecutive days of school in the 2021/22 school year.

111 of those had been reported three or more times, according to Lincolnshire County Council data.

The number of Fixed Penalty Notices handed out to parents for unauthorised absences has tripled since the previous year, although it’s still below pre-pandemic levels.

1,760 fines were given out when a child missed around four and a half days out of the last six weeks.

Holidays in school term are the reason for more than 90% of these.

The number of prosecutions of parents who hadn’t paid fines has also doubled from the previous year.

A report says that Lincolnshire’s absence rates remain above the national average.

Parents can be fined if their children miss school regularly | Photo: Adobe Stock

The Children and Young Person Scrutiny Committee was told that a new strategy is being used to bring attendance back to pre-pandemic levels.

An attendance team will be created, and there will be regular conversations with schools about children who are often off.

A report presented to the committee said: “Lincolnshire has seen many children return to school following the pandemic, however, as expected, there continues to be a gap between pre-Covid and post-Covid attendance.

“Between autumn 2021 and spring 2022, the overall absence was 7.9% and persistent absence was 24.7% compared with national rates of 7.4% and 22.3%.”

Boston has the highest share of children missing education in Lincolnshire.

However, it’s believed this may be due to families who have returned to home countries without notifying the school.


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