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A 'troubling' number of Yorkshire children are persistently missing school amid a 'broken system'.

A record number of students were severely absent from Yorkshire and Humber schools in the autumn term last year, according to new data. It comes as school unions criticised the use of fines for parents as a "crude tool", advocating instead for improved support for schools and families to tackle the root cause of students missing out on education.

Data from the Department for Education reveals that 17,394 students in Yorkshire and Humber were severely absent, meaning they missed at least half of school sessions, in the 2024-25 autumn term. These students represented 2.4 per cent of the total - an increase from 2.3 per cent the previous year and the highest since comparable records began in 2016-17.

At the same time, 18.7 per cent of pupils in the region were persistently absent, missing 10 per cent or more of sessions.

Nationally, the proportion of severely absent pupils in the recent autumn term also hit a record high at two per cent of students. However, the rate of persistently absent pupils fell from 19.4 per cent in autumn 2023-24 to 17.8 per cent last year.

Find out the absence rate in your area in the map below. You can also compare the absence rate in Yorkshire schools in the list below.

Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "It is troubling that, even as absence rates are coming down overall, the percentage of pupils missing at least 50 per cent of their education is rising.

"We need to focus on helping these pupils overcome the barriers preventing them from being in school on a regular basis.

"This means investing in attendance services, liaising directly with families to identify the issues at play and then ensuring specialist support is available as soon as required."

NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman described the figures as a "small step in the right direction", though cautioned there remains "a long way to go" in boosting attendance levels. He said: "Schools work tirelessly to ensure children are in the classroom, but they alone are not equipped to address all the deep-seated reasons for absence which can range from routine sickness to mental ill-health and social challenges facing children and families, including poverty.

"Fining parents is a crude tool which does not address many of the root causes, what is needed is better support for families and schools."

Centre for Social Justice education lead Beth Prescott said: "Five years on from school closures, classroom absences can no longer be viewed as a post-pandemic blip.

"The material risk now is that this issue is becoming deeply entrenched.

"Ministers must now build on the progress they have made and work with local charities and families to provide more absent pupils with the mentorship they need to return to school.

"But with the crisis deepening we need to attack the root causes of school absence, including softening parental attitudes to attendance and an education system that fails to engage thousands of young people."

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "Getting children back in classrooms, where they belong, is non-negotiable if we are to break the unfair link between background and success so we can build a fairer country, a cornerstone of our plan for change."

A spokesperson from the Department for Education (DfE) said: "We inherited a broken school system so we are taking decisive action through our plan for change to tackle the attendance crisis - and the latest data shows positive green shoots with the biggest year-on-year improvement in attendance in a decade.

"We are making huge progress with over five million more days in school this year and 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent, which research shows in time is likely to improve severe absence."

Absence rates in every Yorkshire local authority area for 2024-25 autumn term Kirklees Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 1.8% Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 9,631 (16.2%) - down from 17.8% the year before. Calderdale Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 2% Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 5,144 (17%) - down from 20% the year before Leeds Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 2.5%

Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 20,432 (18.1%) - down from 20.1% the year before Bradford Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 2,410 (2.9%) - up from 2.8% the year before and the highest since comparable records began in 2016-17. Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 20.8% Sheffield Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 2.9% Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 14,649 (20.2%) - down from 21.7% the year before. Doncaster Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 2% Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 7,659 (19%) - down from 22% the year before. Rotherham Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 1,053 (2.7%) - up from 2.4% the year before and the highest since comparable records began in 2016-17. Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 20.8% Barnsley Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 815 (2.6%) - up from 2.4% the year before Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 19.2% North Yorkshire Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 2.3% Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 12,052 (17.2%) - down from 19.4% the year before. York Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 566 (2.7%) - up from 2.5% the year before and the highest since comparable records began in 2016-17 Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 17.1% East Yorkshire Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 2% Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 6,658 (17%) - down from 20% the year before Hull Severely absent pupils (missed half of school): 2% Persistently absent pupils (missing 10% of school): 7,446 (20%) - down from 22% the year before.

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