Summary
More than 14,000 children are persistently absent from school in Gloucestershire , with half of these being pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Green Party county councillor Natalie Rothwell-Warn (Stroud Central), who chairs the children and family scrutiny committee at Gloucestershire County Council, told a recent meeting she was shocked by the figures.
Details
She has raised concerns about both the scale of persistent absence among children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the county and whether government reforms are being matched with sufficient resources to succeed.
“If we look at the whole of Gloucestershire for the rest of the children according to government data there is actually a total of 14,036 children and young people who were persistently absent in the academic year 2024/25,” she told the last full council meeting at Shire Hall . “This equates to just under a fifth of pupils in the county,” she said.
She explained that they are missing at least 10 per cent of scheduled school time in an academic year.
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And Cllr Rothwell-Warn went on to say that “these absences combined equate to nearly eight of our secondary schools in Gloucestershire being empty for 19 days.” “I was genuinely shocked to learn that more than 7,000 children and young people with SEND in Gloucestershire are persistently absent from school,” she said.
“These are children who are missing at least 19 days of education every year, and many are missing much more than that. “When so many children are struggling to attend school, we have to ask ourselves why? Rather than blaming children and families, we need to understand what it is about the system that is not working for them.
“This is not just a Gloucestershire issue. It is a national issue that deserves a serious national response.” Cllr Rothwell-Warn has called for the Government to undertake an independent national inquiry into the causes of persistent absence among children and young people and to examine why so many pupils feel unable to engage with mainstream education.
Alongside concerns about attendance, Cllr Rothwell-Warn has also questioned whether the government’s ambitious SEND reform programme can be delivered at the pace expected and with the resources available. At last week’s county council cabinet meeting, she asked what contingency plans are in place should the new funding prove inadequate or delivery partners struggle to implement the required changes on schedule.
Report source: Gloucestershire Live
