Just under half of all NSW public school students were chronically absent from school last year, with four in 10 pupils missing at least one day of class every fortnight.
An increase in the number of parents letting their child stay home for “unjustified” reasons and a jump in illness were behind the increase.
Principals point to the changing complexity of students, with figures showing a quarter of all students received an adjustment for having some sort of disability last year.
Across all school sectors, 59.5 per cent of students attended school more than 90 per cent of the time last year, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority data shows. In public schools, only 55.8 per cent of students attended more than 90 per cent of the time.
NSW Secondary Principals’ Council president Denise Lofts said schools were trying to support both parents and students in the context of worsening mental health of young children.
“It is a bigger problem than we believe. We’re scratching the surface – it is about engagement, belonging, interaction and social awareness. They’re big-ticket items in terms of attendance,” she said.
Thousands of parents let students stay home with “unjustified” reasons for their absence.Credit: Getty
She noted parents, alongside schools, were also grappling with the fallout of rising rates of mental health issues in children.
“What we’re finding anecdotally … parents are losing some of their authority and willingness to support going to school,” she said.
The percentage of Catholic school students attending school 90 per cent of the time fell from 80 per cent 10 years ago to 63.8 per cent last year. Private schools also declined, with 81 per cent of students going to class most of the time in 2015 compared with 67.8 per cent last year.
A NSW Department of Education analysis of attendance data last year found 9,729,900 days were missed by public school students. Three million of those days were unjustified absences.
President of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council Denise Lofts.Credit:
Attendance is not just an issue in NSW. Last year, the UK’s education minister blamed work-from-home parents for letting students stay home. The Victorian Department of Education appears to have invoked public health scare campaigns by telling parents: “There is no safe number of days for missing school.”
Professor Kay Carroll from Western Sydney University’s school of education said even though parents might work from home since the pandemic, it was vital that students were in class.
“Obviously, it is of concern because the correlation between attendance and learning outcomes and social skills and how they relate to others is very strong,” she said.
Mathematical Association of NSW president Dr Katherin Cartwright warned that missing just one day a fortnight meant students struggled to ever catch up.
“That is going to be huge because maths is a very sequential subject, where things build on each other,” she said.
A NSW Department of Education spokeswoman said it was disappointing attendance had not improved in 2024 after strong gains in 2023 as it was vital for students to achieve their best.
“We are reviewing which of our initiatives and interventions have been most successful to inform our 2025 strategy as we continue to campaign to lift attendance,” she said.
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