After the pandemic wreaked havoc on children's education, the number of Blackburn with Darwen pupils missing school without permission has risen since before Covid-19, new figures show.

Department for Education figures show 69,000 out of 2.7 million school sessions were missed without permission by pupils in Blackburn with Darwen in the last school year.

It meant children in the area had an unauthorised absence rate, defined as any absence that is either not explained by parent or is not agreed by the school, of 2.5 per cent.

The council said rates in the borough are in line with national averages, but added raising rates of attendance is a “national priority”.

The school day is split into a morning and afternoon session, with every child expected to attend all sessions.

In the 2018-19 spring term, the unauthorised absence rate in Blackburn with Darwen was 1.3 per cent, meaning it has almost doubled since Covid-19 caused major disruption to schooling.

Nationally, 2.3 per cent of pupils missed school without permission in the spring, almost double the 1.2 per cent who were absent from lessons in 2018-19.

Every area in the country has seen the rate of unauthorised absences rise by more than 30 per cent since 2018-19.

Across Lancashire as a whole, the unauthorised absence rate is 1.9 per cent.

Councillor Julie Gunn, executive member for children, young people and education at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “Improving pupils’ rates of attendance is a national priority and to address this the Department of Education issued guidance in May 2022, 'Working Together to Improve School Attendance'.  

“In Blackburn with Darwen we have used the guidance to strengthen the excellent work that schools carry out to address unauthorised absence, improve attendance and reduce barriers for those pupils who are classified as severe or persistent absentees.   

“Current attendance rates in the borough are in line with national averages but we recognise that improving attendance is everybody’s business.

"As such, we will continue to work in partnership with our schools, trusts and dioceses to ensure attendance is a system priority.” 

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the The Association for School and College Leaders, said there are several complex factors causing rising absence rates.

They include mental health issues, exacerbated by the pandemic, a lack of support for children with special educational needs, with schools lacking resources to deal with them, and the cost-of-living crisis, with 30 per cent of children growing up in poverty.

She said: "It will take concerted government action to address these issues, all of which are linked to high levels of pupil absence, and ensure all children are getting the support they need at the right time."

The overall absence rate has also risen across the country, from 4.8 per cent in the 2018-19 spring term to seven per cent last year.

In Blackburn with Darwen, 200,000 school sessions (7.3 per cent) were missed in the latest spring term, just shy of half a day a week per pupil.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "The vast majority of children are in school and learning, and we are taking action to increase attendance because it is vital for a child’s education, wellbeing and future life chances.

"We have expanded our attendance hubs, which will support more than 400,000 pupils across 14 hubs and provided a toolkit for schools about communicating with parents on this issue.

"Our mentoring programme, delivered by Barnardo’s, sees trained mentors work directly with 1,665 persistently and severely absent children and their families to understand and overcome the barriers to attendance and support them back into school."