Bedford Borough Council says pupil absence rates in the Borough are “among the best” of its statistical neighbours and remain below both regional and national averages, despite rising since the pandemic.
A council spokesperson said: “Bedford borough’s pupil absence data ranks among the best compared with our statistical neighbours, as well as at both the regional and national levels for the 2023/2024 academic year.
The council was responding to the latest Department for Education (DfE) figures, which it acknowledged show that Bedford’s overall absence rate is now higher than before Covid-19 and above the East of England average.
The spokesperson added: “Although the pupil absence rate in Bedford borough has steadily increased since the pandemic, this trend is consistent across statistical neighbours, the region, and nationally.”
Today (12 November), the government set out a national drive to improve school attendance. According to the DfE, “every school will be issued with AI-powered minimum attendance improvement targets” as part of a newly announced “roadmap”.
This includes attendance hubs, behaviour hubs, and AI-based benchmarking tools to identify schools that need support.
Nationally, ministers say the measures are starting to show results. In a statement, the DfE said last year saw “the biggest improvement in overall attendance in over a decade”, equivalent to 5.3 million extra days in school and 140,000 fewer persistently absent pupils.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
