Hillingdon Council is taking decisive action to address rising absenteeism rates among school-aged children, implementing new strategies to support regular attendance and improve educational outcomes.

The move comes after a concerning increase in persistent absenteeism, defined as missing 10% or more of school sessions, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. The review was initiated in response to these rising levels, as detailed in the Public Reports Pack. While Hillingdon's rate of unauthorised absence is broadly in line with national figures, the rate of persistent absence is somewhat higher, thereby validating the importance for this review.

A recent report from the Children, Families & Education Select Committee highlighted a range of factors contributing to the problem, including parental engagement, mental health, bullying, and the school environment.

At a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Councillor Susan O'Brien, Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education, presented the committee's findings and recommendations. The Cabinet agreed to implement the seven recommendations, which focus on:

  • Parental Engagement and Support
  • Mental Health & Wellbeing
  • School Environment & Culture
  • Data & Monitoring
  • Collaboration & Community Involvement

Councillor Magwana said, Over the course of the review, we've heard directly from young people, parents and carers, schools and officers. Their voices have helped us to understand the complex and often overlapping reasons why some young people struggle to attend school regularly, ranging from mental health and SEND needs to housing instability, bullying, and the lasting impact of the pandemic.

Councillor O'Brien thanked the Children, Families, and Education Select Committee for their work. Councillor Magwana, a member of the Select Committee, said the review was a deeply insightful and collaborative piece of work .

Councillor Brown added that the report clearly shows the struggles that families are experiencing in our current time, and also thanked the select committee for their thorough and in-depth reporting.

Councillor Ian Edwards, Leader of the Council, commended the select committee for the excellent report and said that the hard part now is for others to follow that lead, and we will do everything we can to get behind that, and deliver the improvements that we know our young people need to help lift their score and improvement attendance.

The council aims to work closely with schools, young people and their families to enable regular school attendance, thereby supporting young people's academic and social development.