How COVID impacted education, behaviour and achievement in Hertfordshire

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has labelled high truancy rates as an ‘epidemic’ nationally, and figures show Hertfordshire is in line with the UK-wide picture.

During the 2019-2020 autumn term, before the pandemic, 13.1% of pupils missed at least 10% of school sessions.

Last year, this jumped to 19.5%, a near-50% rise in the number of children persistently absent.

Meanwhile, the proportion of children missing at least half of school sessions has more than doubled, from 0.9% to 2%.

In Hertfordshire, persistent absence rates have increased from 11.1% in the 2019 autumn term to 17.4% last year.

The proportion of pupils missing at least half of classes has also risen significantly, with 1.7% of children in Hertfordshire missing 50% or more of their school sessions last autumn.

James Bowen, assistant general secretary at school leaders' union the National Association of Head Teachers, said attendance has declined significantly since the pandemic, fuelled by factors including rising anxiety and poor mental health, poverty, challenges at home, and under-resourced support for children with special educational needs.

Nationally, suspension rates have also risen since before the pandemic - including in Hertfordshire, where 6.2 suspensions per 100 pupils were handed out in the 2022-2023 academic year.

This was up from 4.1 per 100 in 2018-2019.

Across the country, suspension rates more than doubled, from 3.8 per 100 pupils in 2018-2019 to 9.3 per 100 last year.

The Department for Education described the rising number of school suspensions as "shocking".

A spokesperson said: "We are determined to get to grips with the causes of poor behaviour - we’ve already committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, and ensuring earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with special needs.

"But we know poor behaviour can also be rooted in wider issues, which is why the Government is developing an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty led by a taskforce co-chaired by the Education Secretary so that we can break down the barriers to opportunity."

The pandemic has also harmed young children's speech, reading and writing skills. In Year Two, 89% of pupils in England met the expected standard in their phonics assessment, which evaluates their speaking, reading and pronunciation - down from 91% in 2018-2019.

Only seven areas saw a rise in children's phonics skills following the pandemic. Some 88% of Year Two children met the expected phonics standard in Hertfordshire, down from 92% in 2018-2019.

Meanwhile, children's attainment in Key Stage Two has also worsened, with just 60% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2022-2023 - down from 65% in 2018-2019.

Hertfordshire also saw a decrease, with the proportion of children performing to the expected level falling from 67% to 61%.

A Department of Education spokesperson said: "We want to make sure that children from all over the country, regardless of background, have the same opportunities to succeed and attain the highest levels."